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Much of our attention here in the U.S. has been centered in the past week on both honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the inauguration of a felon to the presidency. But it is important that we note the impact of one of former President Joe Biden’s last acts, on both peoples of the Caribbean and activists here in the United States—his pardon of Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr.
We covered the history behind the years of hard work by activists to bring this to fruition.
NBC News, via the Associated Press, reported on Garvey’s legacy:
President Joe Biden on Sunday posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders and was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s. […]
Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey, with supporters arguing that Garvey’s conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride. After Garvey was convicted, he was deported to Jamaica, where he was born. He died in 1940.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said of Garvey: “He was the first man, on a mass scale and level” to give millions of Black people “a sense of dignity and destiny.”
The Caribbean Community (Caricom) on Sunday expressed “its profound gratitude” to the outgoing Biden administration after it gave a posthumous pardon to Jamaica’s national hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, after many years of campaigning.
In a statement, Caricom chairman and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, said “this long-awaited exoneration” to Garvey, a distinguished civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist leader, “is testament to the unwavering advocacy of Caricom leaders, both individually and collectively, along with countless members of the diaspora, for the rectification of the unjust conviction of an ardent advocate for the rights and liberties of individuals of African descent.
“Caricom extends its heartfelt congratulations to his son, Julius Garvey, and other members of his family, as well as to the Government and People of Jamaica, and all who honor the remarkable legacy of this extraordinary son of our region. His life and work continue to inspire and influence both within and beyond the Caribbean,” Mottley said.
Earlier, Jamaica welcomed the pardon with Prime Minister Andrew Holness hailing the announcement as a “proud and historic day” for Jamaica and that it was the “first step towards total exoneration”.
Here’s how Television Jamaica reported the news:
Emma Lewis, writing for Global Voices covered multiple reactions of the Garvey pardon:
The presidential pardon was the lead story on Jamaican broadcast news throughout the day, and members of the Caribbean diaspora in the US and UK reacted with satisfaction and pride. In fact, leading diaspora figures in the US had been campaigning strenuously for years for Garvey’s pardon. Retired Jamaican diplomat Dr. Curtis Ward, interviewed on radio, recognised those who had laboured “in the trenches” in lobbying the U.S. government, noting that the action “corrects an injustice that has lasted for a century.”
Another Jamaican diaspora member who has advocated passionately for Garvey’s pardon, Florida-based writer Geoffrey Philp, wrote on his blog that: “President Biden’s pardon is a step toward justice, but the work continues. Let’s uplift our communities, educate the next generation, and live by Garvey’s vision of empowerment and unity.”
An editorial in the Jamaica Gleaner offered criticism along with its praise:
Joe Biden did not – which this newspaper felt was required, and suggested he should do – offer a full-throated and unequivocal acknowledgement that, a century ago, Marcus Garvey was railroaded into jail by the American state because it felt threatened by his global movement for black people. But, to be fair to Mr. Biden, in pardoning Garvey on Sunday, on the eve of the end of his term in office, he implicitly conceded the great likelihood that a historic wrong was perpetrated against the Jamaican national hero. He was explicit in saying that many historians and legal experts who have studied the case concluded that Garvey was framed.
“Advocates and lawmakers praise his (Garvey’s) global advocacy and impact, and highlight the injustice underlying his criminal conviction,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.
Except for stronger exculpatory language, the pardon issued by Mr. Biden was as much as he could legally do for Garvey. American presidents do not have the constitutional power to formally exonerate people convicted of crimes.
To his credit, Mr. Biden has done far more than any of his predecessors towards the realisation of the effort to clear Garvey’s name in the United States, despite decades of lobbying towards that end. …Throughout Mr Obama’s presidency, black members of the US Congress not only maintained a decades-old effort to have the legislature pass a law to exonerate Garvey, but they took their case to the White House. Yvette Clarke, New York Congresswoman who is of Jamaican parentage, was at the forefront of that effort.
Sheri-kae McLeod, the Jamaican correspondent for Caribbean National Weekly wrote:
Reflecting on her grandfather’s legacy, Nzinga Garvey, the late leader’s granddaughter, expressed her pride and echoed the significance of the pardon. “This posthumous pardon is about more than his name; it is about reclaiming the soul of a nation that believes in fairness over fear,” Nzinga Garvey said in an interview with CMC. “It underscores the deep need for a justice system that protects, not prosecutes, those who dare to inspire and empower.” […]
The announcement has been met with widespread support from across the Jamaican diaspora. Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s Consul General for Southern USA, took to social media to express his gratitude, crediting the global efforts, including those of Dr. Julius Garvey, Congresswoman Clarke, and several other advocates, for their tireless work in securing the pardon.
“Today, we join millions around the world to celebrate the posthumous pardon of our National Hero, the Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey,” Mair wrote. He also thanked those who had signed petitions and lobbied the U.S. government for years, including leaders in the Jamaican diaspora and successive Jamaican governments.
In New York, Alison Wilson, Jamaica’s Consul General, echoed the sentiment, calling the pardon a “monumental step” in correcting a historical wrong. “This is a victory not only for Jamaicans but for all people around the world who have been influenced by Garvey’s vision of unity, progress, and upliftment,” Wilson said.
Caribbean American former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued this statement in response to the pardon:
Political commentator, film, and television producer Keith Boykin posted this video response:
Reactions truly came from everywhere. David Hines, Black British lead singer and guitarist of the reggae band Steel Pulse issued this statement to the Jamaica Observer:
“It has been a long time coming, based on the fact that Garvey, a prominent pro-African activist, was jailed based more to do with his ‘Back to Africa’ campaign than the actual charges he was accused of. He was a threat to America in regard to the African American liberated mindset that had raised a deep concern to the authorities,” said the singer-songwriter.
Hinds, who was born in the United Kingdom to Jamaican parents, said he discovered the message of Garvey through Burning Spear’s 1976 album, Marcus Garvey. His parents were also from St Ann but they spoke little about Garvey in their home.
The 68-year-old Hinds wrote Worth His Weight in Gold (Rally Round) — a song from Steel Pulse’s True Democracy album — in tribute to Garvey, who died from a stroke in London in 1940 at age 52.
Give it a listen:
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