President Joseph Biden pardoned Jamaican and Caribbean Pan Africanist Marcus Mosiah Garvey on Sunday in one of his last acts before he left office and handed over to Donald Trump. The move was hailed in Jamaica as a correction of an injustice in a country still known for its notorious acts of racism and bigotry against people of color.
Credited with influencing a slew of Black resistance leaders who followed after Garvey, including Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., Garvey was convicted under controversial and highly racially charged circumstances in the 1920s in the U.S. for mail fraud, sentenced to five years in prison, and deported back to Jamaica. He died in 1940 in England. His remains were brought back home in 1964 and interred in National Heroes Park. He was also given the island’s highest national award.
Hailing the pardon on Sunday, the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) said the “exoneration corrects a grave historical miscarriage of justice that resulted from an illegal, intelligence-led operation designed to disable the 19th-century Pan Africanist Movement — the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) — that captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands of people of African descent.”
The party said that it was pleased that Biden acknowledged the profound impact that Garvey, a Jamaican national hero, had on shaping the narratives of freedom, equality, and justice in the U.S. and elsewhere. “Garvey’s principles of unity and self-determination served to solidify and embolden the mandate of social justice movements in Africa and its diaspora, and will also encourage a new generation of Pan Africanist advocates to assume a mantle of leadership with a renewed sense of purpose,” according to the party. “The decision is a call to action to African peoples to advance the agenda that Mr. Garvey was promoting over a century ago. It is a vindication of the principles for which Garvey stood.”
Garvey had spent about two years in prison before his sentence was commuted by then-President Calvin Coolidge.
Activists say the 11th hour pardon of Garvey came as no surprise, given the sustained pressure that some members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and other advocates had placed on successive American presidents, not the least being Biden.
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke of New York was one of those who led the lobbying for a posthumous pardon, perhaps because of her Jamaican roots and the need to correct an historical injustice.
The caucus had written to Biden recently, reminding him of its request and the racial and other circumstances linked to Garvey’s arrest, conviction, and incarceration.
“Exactly 101 years ago, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in a case that was marred by prosecutorial and governmental misconduct,” the CBC stated. “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. In response to this blatant injustice, President Coolidge commuted Garvey’s sentence upon eligibility. Efforts to clear Garvey’s name have persisted for decades.”
Garvey lived in several hemispheric nations, including Costa Rica where, up to recently, a thriving and active branch of the UNIA had been functioning thanks to the descendants of Afro Caribbean males who went there to work on projects decades ago. He had also established a UNIA branch in Harlem as early as 1916, advocating for economic independence for Black people. The PNP party said his contribution was universal.
According to a statement, “Marcus Garvey, a visionary and an extraordinary Pan Africanist, played a pivotal role in advocating for the empowerment and upliftment of African peoples globally. A Jamaican by birth, Garvey’s influence transcended borders, inspiring countless individuals to take pride in their heritage, reclaim their identity, and strive for the liberation of their peoples. His ideas continue to resonate today, calling us to action and urging us to recognize our shared responsibility toward one another. Let us continue to draw inspiration from his life and work, pushing forward with strength and unity as we strive for a brighter, more just future for all. The willingness to right historical wrongs not only restores honor to Marcus Garvey but also paves the way for future dialogues on race, equality, and justice. Let us honor this legacy by working together toward a more equitable and inclusive world.”
