 After segregation and enforced segregation of Jim Crow laws made it nearly impossible for African Americans to thrive in American society, many searched for a safe haven.Idlewild became a place where one could be within miles of prominent cities such as Chicago, while remaining concealed within the surrounding woods of the newfound African American community.As this new black "intelligentsia" began to settle in the community, some relocated as activists and members of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), some as followers of Du Bois' National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), others as believers of the late Booker T. Washington's political machine, and others as potential investors.