WASHINGTON, CMC—Outgoing United States President Joe Biden is being urged to exonerate Jamaica’s first nationwide hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, for a 1923 conviction for fraudulent mail use.
A number of US legislators, together with Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, have written to President Biden, who leaves workplace on January 20.
Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, is chair-elect of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“Precisely 101 years in the past, Mr. Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in a case marred by prosecutorial and governmental misconduct. The proof paints an abundantly clear narrative that the costs towards Mr. Garvey weren’t solely fabricated but in addition focused to criminalize, discredit, and silence him as a civil rights chief,” in accordance with the letter.
“President Calvin Coolidge commuted Mr. Garvey’s sentence upon eligibility in response to this blatant injustice. Efforts to clear Garvey’s identify have endured for many years,” it added.
In 1987, Congressman John Conyers led the Home Judiciary Committee, which held hearings on Garvey’s exoneration.
In 2004, Congressman Charles Rangel launched a sequence of resolutions calling consideration to injustice—Clarke’s current efforts to proceed these strides.
“Regardless of these efforts, Garvey’s identify has not but been cleared,” the congressional representatives wrote, including, “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 risk of erasure by radical state legislatures, a presidential pardon for Mr. Garvey would appropriate the historic report and restore the legacy of an American hero.
“As we method the conclusion of your administration, this second offers an opportunity to go away an indelible mark on historical past.”
In Might 2023, Clarke and 22 of her Congressional colleagues wrote an analogous letter to Biden calling for Garvey’s exoneration.
“We write with due respect to specific our sturdy assist 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 proof current and obtainable at our disposal paints an abundantly clear narrative that the costs introduced towards Marcus Mosiah Garvey had been fraudulent and executed in unhealthy religion.
“A Presidential pardon for Mr. Garvey would appropriate the historic report and shift the narrative throughout a time when African-American historical past faces the existential risk of erasure by radical state legislatures. Extra importantly, exoneration would reaffirm our dedication to a felony justice system that ensures de facto fairness below the rule of legislation.
“Marcus Garvey’s contributions and affect are interwoven into the material of American historical past. 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 wrote that, because the founding father of the Common Negro Enchancment Affiliation and African Communities League, Garvey impressed practically six million individuals throughout 40 international locations with a message of social progress by way of financial prosperity.
In February 2023, Clarke and Georgia Congressman 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 the Caribbean Media Company (CMC).
“I used to be raised below the teachings of Marcus Garvey. I used to be raised to imagine we should unite to do the mandatory work to enhance our communities. And I used to be raised with the Garvey dedication to social service, together with ample 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.
Garvey was a Jamaican-born Black nationalist and chief of the Pan-Africanism motion, looking 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).
In 1964, Garvey’s stays had been exhumed and brought again to Jamaica, the place the federal government proclaimed him the nation’s first nationwide hero and re-interred him at a shrine within the Nationwide Heroes Park.
