New call made for Biden to exonerate Garvey before demitting office
Published:Tuesday | December 24, 2024 | 12:09 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
Led by Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, some 20 members of the United States (US) House of Representatives, in a letter to President Joe Biden, is urging the exoneration of Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey, from a 1923 conviction for the fraudulent use of the mail.
The outgoing president is being asked to act before his administration comes to an end on January 20 next year.
In the letter, Clarke, whose mother is Jamaica-born US politician Una Clarke, and her colleagues said, “ 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 Mr Garvey were not only fabricated, but also targeted to criminalise, discredit, and silence him as a civil rights leader. In response to this blatant injustice, President Calvin Coolidge commuted Mr Garvey’s sentence upon eligibility. Efforts to clear Garvey’s name have persisted for decades. In 1987, under Congressman John Conyers’ leadership, the House Judiciary Committee held hearings on Mr Garvey’s exoneration. In 2004, Congressman Charles Rangel introduced a series of resolutions calling attention to the injustice, followed by Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke’s recent efforts to continue these strides. Despite these efforts, Garvey’s name has not yet been cleared.”
The US House members said that exonerating Garvey would honour his work for the black community, remove the shadow of an unjust conviction, and further the Biden 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,” they said.
“As the historic Biden-Harris administration comes to an end, we respectfully express our strong support for the exoneration of Mr Marcus Mosiah Garvey’s 1923 conviction for fraudulent use of the mail which, was submitted to your administration.”
In April last year, US House members said they were writing to express their strong support for a posthumous pardon of Garvey’s conviction.
The latest plea for Garvey’s exoneration follows on a record number of presidential pardons issued Biden to persons convicted of non-violent crimes. He has also commuted the death sentences of 37 people on federal death row.
Previously, the Jamaican community launched a petition drive to raise thousands of signatures that would have gone to the president asking for the exoneration but the petition drive fell short of its goal.
The US representatives, who said Garvey was a Jamaica-born Pan-Africanist who led one of the earliest black Civil Rights movements in the Americas, noted that he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) to challenge racial inequality and inspired millions worldwide as a tireless advocate for black self-determination and economic independence.
“ Through the UNIA, Mr Garvey established the Black Star Line, one of the first black-owned shipping companies, which connected black entrepreneurs across the Americas. Mr Garvey published the Negro World Newspaper which, at its peak, reached a circulation of 200,000 readers weekly. Finally, Mr Garvey authored the ‘Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World’ to advocate for better treatment of black people globally,” the letter stated.