U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) on Monday led 20 of her colleagues in a letter to President Joe Biden urging the exoneration of Jamaica’s first nationwide hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, for a 1923 conviction for the fraudulent use of the mail.
Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, represents the ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn and is chair-elect of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“Precisely 101 years in the past, Mr. Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in a case that was marred by prosecutorial and governmental misconduct,” the letter to Biden says. “The proof paints an abundantly clear narrative that the fees towards Mr. Garvey weren’t solely fabricated but additionally focused to criminalize, discredit, and silence him as a civil rights chief.
“In response to this blatant injustice, President Calvin Coolidge commuted Mr. Garvey’s sentence upon eligibility,” the letter provides. “Efforts to clear Garvey’s title have persevered for many years.”
In 1987, underneath Congressman John Conyers’ management, the Home Judiciary Committee held hearings on Garvey’s exoneration.
In 2004, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel launched a sequence of resolutions calling consideration to the injustice, adopted by Clarke’s current efforts to proceed these strides.
“Regardless of these efforts, Garvey’s title has not but been cleared,” the congressional representatives write. “Exonerating Mr. Garvey would honor his work for the Black group, take away the shadow of an unjust conviction, and additional this administration’s promise to advance racial justice.
“At a time when Black historical past faces the existential menace of erasure by radical state legislatures, a presidential pardon for Mr. Garvey would appropriate the historic document and restore the legacy of an American hero,” they added. “As we strategy the conclusion of your administration, this second supplies an opportunity to go away an indelible mark on historical past.”
In Could 2023, Clarke and 22 of her Congressional colleagues led an identical letter to Biden calling for Garvey’s exoneration.
“We write with due respect to precise our robust help 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,” say the congressional representatives of their letter.
“The proof current and accessible at our disposal paints an abundantly clear narrative that the fees introduced towards Marcus Mosiah Garvey weren’t solely fraudulent however executed in unhealthy religion,” the letter provides. “A Presidential pardon for Mr. Garvey would appropriate the historic document and shift the narrative throughout a time when African-American historical past faces the existential menace of erasure by radical state legislatures. Extra importantly, exoneration would reaffirm our dedication to a legal justice system that ensures de facto fairness underneath the rule of legislation.
“Marcus Garvey’s contributions and affect are interwoven into the material of American historical past,” it continues. “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 motion.”
The congressional representatives be aware that, because the founding father of the Common Negro Enchancment Affiliation and African Communities League, Garvey impressed practically six million individuals throughout 40 nations with a message of social progress by financial prosperity.
Additionally they write that, though President Coolidge commuted his sentence, Garvey was instantly deported and by no means permitted to return to the US, stating that requires Garvey’s exoneration have been fixed since his conviction.
“Many individuals had supported pardon efforts throughout Garvey’s lifetime and have continued to take action posthumously,” they write. “Congressional efforts to rectify this matter started in 1987 when then-Congressman John Conyers held a Judiciary Committee listening to concerning Garvey’s unfair trial.”
Since then, the representatives say that Congressional resolutions have been launched by former Congressman Charles Rangel of Harlem and, most lately, by Clarke, searching for to clear Garvey’s title.
“In gentle of Marcus Garvey’s sustained efforts to uplift and empower peoples of African descent, his willpower to construct communities by financial independence, and his lasting impression on society, we discover it crucial that Mr. Garvey be exonerated by the use of a posthumous pardon,” the congressional representatives say. “The passage of time has confirmed his place in historical past however has not eliminated the stain of this injustice from his legacy.
“Mr. Garvey’s imaginative and prescient of racial justice has been honored by governments all over the world; that is the US authorities’s alternative to honor his work for the Black group and take away the unjust stain on his legacy,” they add. “Moreover, this is a chance for the Biden Administration to resume and ship on its inaugural promise of delivering racial justice. We admire your time and consideration concerning this pertinent matter.”
In February 2023, Clarke and Georgia U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson launched laws in the US Home of Representatives calling for Garvey’s exoneration and figuring out him as a champion for the liberation of individuals of African descent.
“The world deserves to know the reality about Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the reality about Black historical past,” Clarke informed Caribbean Life. “I used to be raised underneath the teachings of Marcus Garvey. I was raised to consider we should come collectively to do the mandatory work to enhance our communities. And I used to be raised with the Garvey dedication to social service, together with an abundance of religion in God.
“It’s time to reclaim Garvey’s legacy and accomplishments as a human rights activist earlier than Congress, America, and the world,” Clarke added.
She stated the decision “exonerates Garvey of his unfounded costs and calls upon President Biden to acknowledge and denounce the racist smears towards him and his legacy.
“America should proper these wrongs and restore Garvey’s legacy,” the U.S. Rep. urged. “And the time to do it’s now.”
Johnson, who represents Georgia’s 4th Congressional District, stated Garvey’s exoneration is “an thought whose time has come.
“The utter lack of benefit to the fees on which he was initially convicted, mixed together with his profound legacy and contributions to Black historical past in our nation – it’s time to proper this basic flawed,” he stated.
“I’m honored to cosponsor this necessary decision with my esteemed colleague, U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, significantly throughout Black Historical past Month,” Johnson added. “And, because the marketing campaign to exonerate Marcus Garvey has been steadily rising, it’s time to appropriate this injustice.”
Garvey was a Jamaican-born Black nationalist and chief of the Pan-Africanism motion, searching for to unite and join individuals of African descent worldwide.
In the US, he was a famous civil rights activist who based the Negro World newspaper, a delivery firm referred to as Black Star Line, and the Common Negro Enchancment Affiliation (UNIA).
Hailing Garvey as a human rights activist, the decision seeks to protect Garvey’s legacy by exonerating him of unfounded costs introduced towards him by the US Authorities and calling for the US President to take essential motion to clear his title.
Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was a civil rights activist for the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism actions. To this finish, he based UNIA and the African Communities League.
In 1922, Garvey and three different UNIA officers had been charged with mail fraud involving the Black Star Line. On June 23, 1923, Garvey was convicted and sentenced to 5 years in jail.
He appealed his conviction, claiming to be a sufferer of a politically motivated miscarriage of justice, however it was denied. In 1927, Garvey was launched from jail and deported again to Jamaica, the place he continued his political activism.
Eight years later, he moved to London, the place he died in 1940 after a number of strokes. Garvey’s physique was interred in London, given journey restrictions imposed throughout World Battle II.
Nonetheless, in 1964, his stays had been exhumed and brought again to Jamaica, the place the federal government proclaimed him Jamaica’s first nationwide hero and re-interred him at a shrine within the Nationwide Heroes Park.
