Several Democratic lawmakers in the US have penned a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to pardon Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887-1940), a former civil rights activist from Jamaica and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). He is also known as Jamaica’s first National Hero.
Twenty House Democrats led by Yvette D Clarke have signed the letter seeking Garvey’s exoneration for a 1923 conviction for fraudulent use of mail.
“Exactly 101 years ago, Mr. Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in a case that was marred by prosecutorial and governmental misconduct. The evidence paints an abundantly clear narrative that the charges against Mr. Garvey were not only fabricated but also targeted to criminalize, discredit, and silence him as a civil rights leader,” the letter read.
“In response to this blatant injustice, President Calvin Coolidge commuted Mr. Garvey’s sentence upon eligibility. Efforts to clear Garvey’s name have persisted for decades. In 1987, under Congressman John Conyers’ leadership, the House Judiciary Committee held hearings on Mr. Garvey’s exoneration. In 2004, Congressman Charles Rangel introduced a series of resolutions calling attention to the injustice, followed by Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke’s recent efforts to continue these strides. Despite these efforts, Garvey’s name has not yet been cleared,” it added.
The lawmakers also wrote that the act of exonerating Garvey would honor his contribution to the Black community, erase the shadow of an unjust conviction, and add credence to the current administration’s promise to advance racial justice.
“As we approach the conclusion of your administration, this moment provides a chance to leave an indelible mark on history,” they urged Biden, whose term at the White House will conclude on January 20, paving the way for Donald Trump who won the national election in November.
Lawmakers also wrote to Biden in May 2023
Clarke, who is a member of the House of Representatives from New York and will take over as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in January, wrote a similar letter to Biden in May 2023 seeking Garvey’s exoneration.
“We write with due respect to express our strong support for the April 18, 2023, request for a posthumous pardon of Marcus Mosiah Garvey’s 1923 conviction for fraudulent use of the mail, submitted to your administration,” the lawmaker, a daughter of Jamaican immigrants, penned along with 22 of her Congressional colleagues.
Also in February 2023, Clarke and her counterpart from Georgia Hank Johnson brought a legislation in the House of Representatives seeking Garvey’s exoneration and identifying him as a champion for liberating people of African descent.
Who was Marcus Garvey
Garvey, who was born in an Afro-Jamaican family in St Ann’s Bay in the former British colony of Jamaica, was a nationalist and led the Pan-Africanism movement that aimed to unify people of African descent settled globally.
Garvey moved to Kingston at a young age and worked as a printer. He also published a small paper called The Watchman which was short-lived. He travelled to many countries and observed the plight of Black people.
He reached the US in 1916 and became a renowned civil rights activist who founded, apart from the UNIA, the Negro World newspaper and a shipping firm named Black Star Line. In the US, Garvey preached the right to freedom among the oppressed Black population.
In 1923, Garvey was convicted on a mail fraud charge in relation with some business and organizational activities in which he was involved. His sentence was later commuted by former US President Coolidge.
Garvey returned to Jamaica continued his political activity. He formed the People’s Political Party in 1929 but it had limited electoral success.
The world in the 1930s was less favourable for Garvey’s progressive ideas. He left Jamaica again in the mid-1930s, this time for England, where he died in 1940. His remains were returned to his motherland in 1964 and reburied in Kingston’s National Heroes Park.
In 1969, the Jamaican government posthumously honored Garvey with the Order of the National Hero. He is considered to be one of the greatest Pan-African leaders.
