Vicki Garvin was one of the foremost Black revolutionaries of the 20th century. She was a political activist, Pan-Africanist and working class internationalist. Gavin held degrees from Hunter and Smith colleges. Her activism began in 1936 as a switchboard operator for the American League of Peace and Democracy. She was an active member of the CIOs United Office and Professional Workers of America (UOPWA) union. Garvin was also active with the "Don't Buy Where Yo Can't Work" protest organized in 1939 by Adam Clayton Powell. In the 1940s, she used her organizing experience from the UOPWA at the National War Labor Board. She organized an in-house union and served as president. After WWII, she worked as National Research Director for the UOPWA and co-chaired its Fair Employment Practices Committee. In the late 1940's, Garvin joined the Communist Party and became a central figure on the Black Left. She was purged from the Congress of Industrial Organizations because of her sympathies. She became a founding member of the newspaper Freedom and developed a lifelong friendship with Paul Robeson. In the inaugural issue of Freedom, she wrote an article on African American women workers.
In the 1950s, Garvin continued her activism working colosely with Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, Thelma Dale and Malcolm X. The political repression of the decade led her to relocate to Nigeria. On a trip to Ghana, she reconnected with W.E.B. DuBois and Shirley Graham Dubois. She roomed with Maya Angelou. When Malcolm X visited Ghana in 1964, it was Garvin who arranged for him to meet revolutionaries and leaders across the continent. Malcolm X's tour of Africa was central to the development of his international and Pan-Africanbist vision. Garvin played a leading role in shaping Malcolm's perspective. In the late 1960s, Garvin visited China for 6 years. There she met Robert F. Williams and Mabel Williams.
"She continued her political activism by joining the editorial committee of New China, a journal run by the US Peoples Friendship Association. She traveled back to China several times, and also made many trips to Africa and the Caribbean. She remained active in many circles and supported organizations such as: Sisters Against South African Apartheid (SASAA); the Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People (CEMOTAP); Black Workers for Justice; and the Center for Constitutional Rights. "
Bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicki_Garvin http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2007/10/vicki-ama-garvin-1915-2007-organizer.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jppGzHlLK3g https://breakingthechainsmag.org/she-who-struggle-vicki-garvin/
Harlem remembers her https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2017/02/03/vicki-garvin-was-revolutionary-home-and-abroad/
Her activism https://www.liberationschool.org/womens-leadership-and-the-black-liberation-struggle/ https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1340045975092486144.html
On Malcolm X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbsv14ZsrNA
On China https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3gCwabz13o
Archive https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/record.php?id=694087419 https://archives.nypl.org/scm/21011
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