Before President Joe Biden leaves The White House in 18 days, he should pardon the Jamaican political activist Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
Nearly two dozen members of Congress, led by incoming Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairwoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), have signed a letter to the president urging that he exonerate the former civil rights leader.
According to the letter to President Biden, “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.”
Garvey is credited with creating the “Back to Africa Movement” in the United States.
The United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), which he founded in 1914, was dedicated to racial pride, economic self-sufficiency, and forming a Black independent African nation.
Garvey also established the Black Star Line, one of the first Black-owned shipping companies, which connected Black businesses across the Americas. He also created the Negro World Newspaper.
Denounced by Black civil rights leaders as an imposter after asserting all they wanted was assimilation into white society, his leadership was cut short in 1923 when he was indicted and convicted of mail fraud and given a five-year jail sentence.
He delivered a speech before his incarceration encouraging members of UNIA to continue the justice fight.
“No fear, no intimidation, nothing can daunt the courage of the Negro who affiliates himself wit the Universal Negro Improvement Association,” Garvey said.
President Calvin Coolidge (R) pardoned Garvey in 1927, two years into his sentence, but ordered his deportation. He never returned to the United States.
CBC members have tried to clear Garvey’s name since 1987, when the late Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) led hearings investigating his conviction. Former Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) also introduced resolutions citing injustices in his prosecution.
“As we approach the end of your administration, this moment provides a chance to leave an indelible mark on history,” said the lawmakers in the letter to the president. “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.”