President Biden urged to exonerate Jamaica’s first national hero

WASHINGTON, CMC – Out going United States President, Joe Biden, is being urged to exonerate Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, for a 1923 conviction for the fraudulent use of the mail.

Several US legislators, including Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke, have written to President Biden, who leaves office on January 20.

Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, is chair-elect of the Congressional Black Caucus.

“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 Garvey were not only fabricated but also targeted to criminality, discredit, and silence him as a civil rights leader,” according to the letter.

“In response to this blatant injustice, President Calvin Coolidge commuted Garvey’s sentence upon eligibility. Efforts to clear Garvey’s name have persisted for decades,” it added.

In 1987, under Congressman John Conyers’ leadership, the House Judiciary Committee held hearings on Garvey’s exoneration.

In 2004, Congressman Charles Rangel introduced a series of resolutions calling attention to the injustice, followed by. Clarke’s recent efforts to continue these strides.

“Despite these efforts, Garvey’s name has not yet been cleared,” the congressional representatives wrote, adding “exonerating Mr Garvey would honor his work for the Black community, remove the shadow of an unjust conviction, and further this administration’s promise to advance racial justice.

“At a time when Black history faces the existential threat of erasure by radical state legislatures, a presidential pardon for Mr Garvey would correct the historical record and restore the legacy of an American hero.

“As we approach the conclusion of your administration, this moment provides a chance to leave an indelible mark on history.”

In May 2023, Clarke, along with 22 of her Congressional colleagues, wrote a similar letter to Biden calling for 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 evidence present and available at our disposal paints an abundantly clear narrative that the charges brought against Marcus Mosiah Garvey were not only fraudulent, but executed in bad fait.

“A Presidential pardon for Mr. Garvey would correct the historical record and shift the narrative during a time when African-American history faces the existential threat of erasure by radical state legislatures. More importantly, exoneration would reaffirm our commitment to a criminal justice system that guarantees de facto equity under rule of law.

“Marcus Garvey’s contributions and influence are interwoven into the fabric of American history. His works have influenced leaders from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Nelson Mandela, inspiring generations of leaders and planting the seeds for the civil rights movement.”

The congressional representatives wrote that, as the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, Garvey inspired nearly six million people across 40 countries with a message of social progress through economic prosperity.

In February 2023, Clarke and Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson introduced legislation in the United States House of Representative calling for Garvey’s exoneration and identifying him as a champion for the liberation of people of African descent.

“The world deserves to know the truth about Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the truth about Black history,” Clarke told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

“I was raised under the teachings of Marcus Garvey. I was raised to believe that we must come together to do the necessary work to improve our communities. And I was raised with the Garvey commitment to social service, including an abundance of faith in God.

“It’s time to reclaim Garvey’s legacy and accomplishments as a human rights activist before Congress, America, and the world,” Clarke added.

Garvey was a Jamaican-born Black nationalist and leader of the Pan-Africanism movement, which sought to unify and connect people of African descent worldwide. In the United States, he was a noted civil rights activist, who founded the Negro World newspaper, a shipping company called Black Star Line, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

In 1964, Garvey’s remains were exhumed and taken back to Jamaica, where the government proclaimed him the country’s first national hero and re-interred him at a shrine in the National Heroes Park.

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