"Take advantage of any opportunity; if none exists, create one for yourself." "I have no wish to return all black people to Africa; there are blacks who are bad here and will be bad there." "In the race of life, if you don't believe in yourself, you're defeated twice." Garvey's most famous quote comes from his speech called "Why I Am Opposed to Segregated Schools", given on August 11, 1956 at the Lincoln Memorial before an audience that included whites and blacks alike. In it, he urges unity among blacks but also notes that racism is a world-wide phenomenon that cannot be eliminated through segregation alone. He also says: "One man with a vision can change the course of history. And that man is you - whether you know it or not." Garvey was born into a free black family in Jamaica. His parents were small farmers who could never afford to send Marcus to school, so he learned to read by reading newspapers and books that his mother bought for him. He later said that these experiences motivated him to become an activist who would fight for equal rights for blacks throughout America and the world. When Marcus was only 10 years old, his father died, leaving him and his family in great poverty. At this point, many black children in Jamaica were being sent to work as indentured servants for white families.