Arnold Josiah Ford

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Arnold Josiah Ford was born in Barbados in 1876 to Edward Thomas Ford and Elizabeth Augustine Ford. He grew up to became a musician in the British Royal Navy before settling in the United States.

Talented as a linguist, poet, musician and composer of many UNIA songs, Ford co-authored "The Universal Ethiopian Anthem" with Benjamin E. Burrell. Ford officially functioned as director of UNIA Band, Orchestra, Band of the African Legion, and the Liberty Hall Choir. He published the Universal Ethiopian Hymnal in 1920.

Ford was also a prominent member of Harlem's Black Jews. He emigrated to Ethiopia in 1930 and died there in 1935.

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