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Biden Issues Historic Posthumous Pardon to Civil Rights Leader Marcus Garvey

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In one of his final acts as president, Joe Biden granted a posthumous pardon to Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr., the influential civil rights leader and founder of the UniversalMarcus GarveyMarcus Garvey Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), clearing his name of a 1923 mail fraud conviction that many have long viewed as unjust.

The pardon, announced just before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, came after years of advocacy from Howard University School of Law professors and students, led by Professor Justin Hansford, who worked closely with Garvey's son, Dr. Julius Garvey.

"In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey was 'the first man of color in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement,'" said Hansford, who published Jailing a Rainbow: The Unjust Trial and Conviction of Marcus Garvey last year. "He was convicted of mail fraud in a trial widely recognized as a miscarriage of justice."

The pardon effort gained significant support from 21 members of Congress, primarily from the Congressional Black Caucus, who urged Biden to "honor his work for the Black community, remove the shadow of an unjust conviction, and further your administration's promise to advance racial justice." Last year, Diverse featured a podcast on the subject. 

Garvey, Jamaica's first national hero, was convicted in 1923 on one count of mail fraud related to his role as president of the Black Star Line shipping company. He received the maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.

The UNIA founder was a pioneering advocate for human rights and Pan-Africanism, building a movement that reached 6 million members across 40 countries.

The presidential pardon marks the end of a century-long struggle to clear Garvey's name. Previous attempts included congressional hearings in 1987 led by Representatives John Conyers and Charlie Rangel, who introduced resolutions to exonerate him.

The exoneration comes 84 years after Garvey's death in 1940, affirming his innocence and recognizing his significant contributions to civil rights and human rights advocacy worldwide.

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