Iyalode Akosua Boahemaa Amy Ashwood Garvey
(10 January 1897 – 3 May 1969)
Born in Jamaica, Mama Amy 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 grand daughter; A pride which served her well in a society infected with the virus of "light skin privilege".
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 Womens section of the UNIA-ACL, laying the foundation for one of the organisations most enduring legacies - Women 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 dedication to the liberation fight was self generated and eternal. She moved to London and founded the 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 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 most noted. Mama Ashwood played a key role in organising the 5th Pan-African Congress in Manchester, 1945. She stood at the helm, chairing the session on "Freedom from British Colonial Rule", which would go on to have a lasting impact in 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 legacy is also prolific. She lived in Liberia during the 1940's 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 through out the Caribbean, paying special attention 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.
We celebrate her with as much gusto and appreciation for the steadfast, stalwart and selfless contribution to the liberation fight of African people.