All about the wife of Marcus Garvey who hails from Ghana's Juaben

To have been married to the great Marcus Garvey in itself is something that is regarded as a great privilege, but what many have not discovered all these years is that the first wife of this Jamaican political activist was a Ghanaian.

Born in Jamaica in 1897, it has been discovered that Mama Iyalode Akosua Boahemaa Ashwood Amy Garvey was originally from Juaben (Dwaben-Asante) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

Sharing her story on its social media platforms, The Asante Nation stated that Ashwood Garvey was born into a family that valued its oral history highly.

“Mama Iyalode Akosua Boahemaa Ashwood Amy Garvey was born to a family that held on to its oral history. From young, her grandmother taught her that she was an Asante descendent, instilling a sense of unshakable pride in her beautiful, dark skin granddaughter; a pride which served her well in a society infected with the virus of ‘light skin privilege,’” it stated.

The narration continued to say that this Asante descendant met Marcus Garvey in 1914.

She was also instrumental in the founding of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, the organisation headed by Marcus Garvey.

The organisation aimed to achieve Black nationalism through the celebration of African history and culture.

Read the rest of the narration as made available via The Asante Nation on Facebook, below:

In 1914, Mama Ashwood met Marcus Mosiah Garvey - apparently besting him in an elocution contest. They would go on, with others to found the Universal Negro Improvement Association & African Communities League. Mama Ashwood would become its first secretary. She also founded and organised the Women's section of the UNIA-ACL, laying the foundation for one of the organisation's most enduring legacies - Women's Leadership.

Mama Ashwood would go on to marry Marcus Mosiah Garvey in 1919. Their marriage was intimately tied to the mission of the organisation they had founded. As Mama Ashwood would write: ‘Our joint love for Africa and our concern for the welfare of our race urged us to immediate action.’

Though the marriage was short-lived, Mama Ashwood's dedication to the liberation fight was self-generated and eternal. She moved to London and founded the Nigerian Progress Union with Oladipo Solanke. Her fellow members bestowed the title Iyalode - "Mother of the Community", upon her.

Between London and New York, Iyalode Amy engaged her creative talents as a music producer and playwright, working with some of the highest-profile Calypsonians of the time.

An adventurous woman & prolific organiser, Iyalode Amy spent the 30's in Jamaica, London & New York, founding a number of organisations including the International African Friends of Abyssinia, International African Service Bureau, London Afro-Women's Centre, J. A. G. Smith Political Party, West Indies National Council and the Council on African Affairs.

Her work in the UK however, is perhaps the most noted. Mama Ashwood played a key role in organising the 5th Pan-African Congress in Manchester, in 1945. She stood at the helm, chairing the session on "Freedom from British Colonial Rule", which would go on to have a lasting impact on the African Liberation Movement.

She co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, along with Mama Claudia Jones, organising the Black community in London in response to the Notting Hill Race Riots.

Mama Ashwoods Africa's legacy is also prolific. She lived in Liberia during the 1940s during which time she organised with African Women in Liberia & Nigeria. Upon travelling to Ghana, she would visit her ancestral home of Dwaben, confirming her family history and reclaiming the name Akosua Boahemaa.

In the 1950's Mama Akosua conducted speaking tours throughout the Caribbean, paying special attention to the plight of Afrikan women and organising with them for African Liberation. In 1968, she wrote and produced an album celebrating the legacy of her former Husband - Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Today, we celebrate her with as much gusto and appreciation for her steadfast, stalwart and selfless contribution to the liberation fight of African people.

Mama Iyalode Akosua Boahemaa - We venerate you. ASE!

Credit: ShakaRa Speaks

AE/BOG