On Sunday, in a historic moment, President Joe Biden posthumously pardoned Marcus Garvey, the legendary Black nationalist who laid the foundation for civil rights leaders like Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s and was sentenced to five years in jail.
Garvey’s conviction, widely viewed as politically motivated, resulted in his deportation to Jamaica, where he was born. He passed away in 1940.
The Jamaican Government welcomes the posthumous pardon of our National Hero the Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey. We consider this as a first step in the total exoneration, absolution and expungement of a historical wrong done to one of the most significant civil rights… pic.twitter.com/x4g2Byqkkx
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) January 19, 2025
Biden’s decision to pardon Garvey comes after years of advocacy from congressional leaders and supporters who argued that justice demanded this recognition. In 1987, Congressman John Conyers spearheaded official hearings before the House Judiciary Committee.
Nearly two decades later, in 2004, Congressman Charles Rangel reignited the fight, spotlighting the systemic injustices that tainted Garvey’s legacy. In 2022, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Karen Hunter started a petition to pardon Garvey. The petition, re-launched during Garvey’s anniversary birthday week last week, garnered over 9,000 signatures.
Marcus Garvey’s son on CNN just days before President Biden’s pardon of the Black nationalist leader. pic.twitter.com/MfsTwgXEwq
— Victor Blackwell CNN (@VictorBlackwell) January 19, 2025
Biden left office on Monday, setting a record for the most individual pardons and commutations issued during a presidency. On Friday, he announced commutations for nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, a bold statement in support of criminal justice reform. Biden framed these acts of clemency as aligning with what he called the “sacred covenant of our nation.”
“When people we love fall and make mistakes, we don’t turn on each other. We lean into each other,” Biden said while addressing a congregation at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in South Carolina. “That’s the sacred covenant of our nation. We pledge allegiance, not just to an idea, but to each other.”
Don Scott, the first Black speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, also received a pardon. Convicted of a drug offense in 1994, Scott served eight years in prison.
In a statement, Scott said, “I am deeply humbled to share that I have received a Presidential Pardon… one that changed the course of my life and taught me the true power of redemption.”
Other recipients of presidential pardons include:
Ravi Ragbir, an immigrant rights activist who was convicted of a nonviolent offense in 2001 and faced deportation to Trinidad and Tobago.
Kemba Smith Pradia, a prison reform advocate who was convicted of a drug offense in 1994 and served six years of a 24-year sentence before President Bill Clinton commuted her sentence in 2000 and has since dedicated her life to advocating for change.
"It's never been just about just me. It's been about humanizing people, humanizing stories, and affording people second chances that deserve to be back in society and are no threat to public safety."
— Legal Defense Fund (@NAACP_LDF) January 20, 2025
– Kemba Smith Pradia, Criminal Justice Advocate pic.twitter.com/2nEekvKXNI
Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate from Wilmington, Delaware, who was convicted of a drug offense and served 17 years in prison. Chambers now writes and speaks about solutions to end gun violence.
