After years of advocacy, Jamaica’s first National Hero, The Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, has been granted a posthumous pardon by outgoing United States President Joe Biden.
According to a report from the Associated Press (AP), Garvey was a Black nationalist who influenced several civil rights leaders like Malcolm X.
Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s. Biden also pardoned immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir and criminal justice reform advocate Kemba Smith Pradia.
“Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey. Supporters long argued that Garvey’s conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride,” the AP reported on Sunday.
Here’s what Biden said in a statement from the White House:
America is a country built on the promise of second chances. As President, I have used my clemency power to make that promise a reality by issuing more individual pardons and commutations than any other President in U.S. history. Today, I am exercising my clemency power to pardon 5 individuals and commute the sentences of 2 individuals who have demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation, and redemption. These clemency recipients have each made significant contributions to improving their communities.
Marcus Mosiah Garvey – Posthumously Granted
Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887-1940) was a renowned civil rights and human rights leader who was convicted of mail fraud in 1923, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. President Calvin Coolidge commuted his sentence in 1927. Notably, Mr. Garvey created the Black Star Line, the first Black-owned shipping line and method of international travel, and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which celebrated African history and culture. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described Mr. Garvey as “the first man of color in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement.” Advocates and lawmakers praise his global advocacy and impact, and highlight the injustice underlying his criminal conviction.
