Clock ticks for Garvey

With just a week to go before the end of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration, members of the Jamaican Diaspora in the United States (US) are anxiously waiting to see if the outgoing commander in chief will issue a posthumous pardon to Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey.

The Gleaner understands that Biden was studying the request from US elected officials as well as community leaders asking him to grant such a pardon.

There have varying views on the request, with some experts arguing that the granting of a pardon would reaffirm the original sentence. An exoneration, those individuals have argued, would clear Garvey’s record of any crimes.

Dr Julius Garvey, Marcus Garvey’s son, he told The Gleaner yesterday that the president can grant a posthumous pardon.

“President Biden can grant a posthumous pardon and issue a statement to say no crime was committed by [Marcus] Garvey and that an injustice was being corrected,” Dr Garvey said.

He noted that, while the pardon was being sought, a bill is currently before the United States Congress to have his father exonerated.

Ambassador Curtis Ward, head of the Caribbean Research and Policy Institute and a member of the advisory board of the Caribbean Political Action Committee, told The Gleaner that there has been mixed messaging about a pardon and exoneration.

“The president cannot exonerate anyone. A court would have to vacate the original verdict and this can only be done by presenting new evidence to a court and the court ordering a new trial,” he said.

Given the fact that Garvey has been dead for decades, he questioned whether anyone would have standing to have a court vacate the original sentence.

Ward also said a presidential pardon with a statement indicating that Garvey was wrongly convicted on trumped up charges would essentially serve as an exoneration.

“We are all waiting to seek what President Biden will do. Time is running out,” he said.

1927 protests

The move to have Garvey’s conviction set aside has been ongoing since 1927, shortly after he was found guilty. Then President Calvin Coolidge commuted Garvey’s sentence in response to protests in support of the black nationalist.

Since 1987, several letters have been sent to various presidents asking for Garvey to either be pardoned or exonerated.

Petitions were made to President Barack Obama and now Biden. No petition letter was sent to Donald Trump during his first term as president.

Asked if petitions would be sent to Trump in his second term, Dr Garvey said thought would be given to such a move and a decision made if the pardon is not forthcoming from Biden.

Recently, 22 members of the United States House of Representatives wrote a letter to Biden asking that he exonerate Garvey.

In the letter, Congresswoman Yvette 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.

editorial@gleanerjm.com