James Robert Stewart G.S.A. Ph. (October 1, 1903 – April 30, 1964) was a member of the

Universal Negro Improvement Association The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant to the United States, and Amy Ashwood Garvey. The Pan-African o ...

. Stewart succeeded Marcus Garvey Garvey as President-General of the UNIA. He successfully relocated its headquarters to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

Life

Stewart was born in Moorhead,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, the son of a wealthy plantation owner; his uncle Professor William Stewart taught in Centreville, Mississippi. He began school in Morehead and moved to Cleveland by 1915 where he studied art and commercial business. After completing school he temporarily served as a mail clerk at the post office, became a Spanish Instructor and served as an interpreter for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. He became an amateur boxing champion in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

weighing 138 pounds. Stewart joined the UNIA as a juvenile in 1919. He became the President of the Cleveland Division in 1933 and State Commissioner in 1937 after taking the course of African Philosophy from President-General Garvey and graduating with high honors. After Garvey's death in June 1940, the August 1940 Emergency Conference of the UNIA Commissioners in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

elected James Stewart President-General to complete the final two years of Garvey's uncompleted term.

President-General

As President-General, Stewart transferred the International Headquarters of the UNIA from New York to Cleveland and immediately launched a national speaking tour to inspire existing Divisions and create new ones. He held a series of Conferences and Conventions, launched the New

Negro World ''Negro World'' was the newspaper of the Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA). Founded by Garvey and Amy Ashwood Garvey, the newspaper was published weekly in Harlem, New York, and distr ...

Newspaper and resumed offering the Course of African Philosophy. By 1943, he obtained sixty five acres of farmland in

Oregonia, Ohio Oregonia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States, on the east shore of the Little Miami River about five miles northeast of Lebanon and six miles south of Waynesville. The ZIP Code ...

and within 6 years transformed it into a modern community. Unhappy with this development, a rehabilitating committee held a conference in Detroit, Michigan. In 1949, President-General Stewart successfully repatriated his family and other supporters to Zanzu, Gbandela,

, officially establishing the International Headquarters of the UNIA-ACL on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n soil. The move led top a split in the movement. A committee of opponents was formed which denounced Stewart. Thomas W. Harvey led the faction, which split from Stewart's group. Harvey was appointed as President-General of the new UNIA group, whose headquarters was established in Philadelphia in 1951.Finding aids: Emory University Universal Negro Improvement Association records, 1916, 1921-1989
/ref> Stewart maintained and expanded the UNIA-ACL program and estate in Liberia, establishing a productive farm, restaurant, school, and hospital which continue to operating to this day. He maintained a close relationship with President

William Tubman William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (29 November 1895 – 23 July 1971) was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th president of Liberia and the longest-serving president in the country's history, serving from 1943 Liberian general election, his e ...

of Liberia who served as the UNIA-ACL Potentate and Supreme Commissioner by 1954. President-General Stewart died in Liberia in 1964. He was survived by his wife, Goldie Stewart, two sons, Victor and James Jr, and three daughters, Anita, Donna and Roberta.

References

External links

The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, James R Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League members American pan-Africanists People from Moorhead, Mississippi