Garvey pardoned after 101 years

Marcus Garvey the proponent of Black Nationalism and Pan African Movements operating in the United States, was falsely charged and imprisoned for mail fraud. After serving two years of a five year sentence President Calvin Coolidge commuted his sentence and Garvey was deported to his homeland Jamaica. Now 101 years later, he was posthumously pardoned by President Joe Biden.

Let us be mindful that in our glee to become a part of the conversation we do not discount or critique the efforts of persons   who were always at the elm like Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke chair, and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus who made a final plea to President Biden for the exoneration of Mr. Garvey.

It should be remembered also that Congress members have been trying for decades to clear Garvey’s name. Congressman John Conyers led hearings in 1987 for the House Judiciary Committee on Garvey’s exoneration. Congressman Charles Rangel introduced resolutions, highlighting alleged injustices against the former civil rights leader in 2004.

As we were made to understand, President Biden could only do a pardon, but not an exoneration.  While a pardon is a step in the right direction, it is our duty and responsibility to continue the quest for exoneration, which would honor Mr. Garvey’s work for the Black community, remove the shadow of an unjust conviction and correct the historical record.

It is still difficult for me to digest the fact that Mr. Garvey’s accomplishments invited the ire of J. Edgar Hoover, the powerful director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Hoover was so angered by the success of the Garvey movement that he could think of nothing else but how to stop it. He was so incensed that he brought charges against Mr. Garvey that were not only fabricated but also targeted to criminalize, discredit, and silence the civil rights leader. Hoover even went as far as to engage black spies to infiltrate the U.N.I.A. and this afforded him the ability of extensive surveillance of the movement.

The Jamaica Progressive League (the League) is of the opinion that to secure Garvey’s legacy and continue the effort, it will take more than talk. It will need visuals and actions to promote the message and teachings of Marcus Garvey. To that end, on November 22, 2024 Williamsbridge Square located at Gun Hill Road & White Plains Road was renamed Marcus Garvey Square. The renaming came after a campaign by the Jamaica Progressive League and Bronx residents who make up a largely Caribbean and African American neighborhood. It is our hope that this location will be utilized to develop programs to communicate and advance the Garvey principles.

The League performed an unofficial survey of a small sample of the predominantly Caribbean community which included friends, neighbors and random persons on the street. They were asked some simple facts about Marcus Garvey. It was a shock to discover that majority of persons surveyed had little or no knowledge of Mr. Garvey. It is imperative that this information is disseminated post-haste and by using every possible means. So starting with this article we will remind some and introduce to others in our community some facts listed below.

1. The Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey’s advocacy for civil rights and the economic advancement of the Black community built the foundation of our modern civil rights movement and influenced many of our civil rights leaders, including Dr. King, who described Garvey as the first man, on a mass scale and level to give millions of Black people a sense of dignity and destiny.
2. Mr. Garvey was an internationally known Black civil rights leader. His main intention was to establish a nation for those who were born into slavery or were the descendants of enslaved people. He was of the opinion that if Blacks develop their own communities then they could live separate but equal as any other community.
3. Garvey also established the Black Star Line, one of the first Black-owned shipping companies in the Western Hemisphere, connecting Black businesses across the Americas, according to the lawmakers. The civil rights leader eventually wanted to route the vessels to Africa for a redemption program
4. Garvey was the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which was created to challenge racial inequality according to the lawmakers. The organization championed self-determination and economic independence for Black people at a time when Jim Crow laws oppressed African Americans and colonization subjugated Africans on their own continent.
5. Garvey also created the Negro World Newspaper which, at its peak, reached a circulation of 200,000 readers weekly, according to the Congress members.
6. Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born on Aug. 17, 1887 in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica.