US President Joe Biden has issued a posthumous pardon to Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican-born civil rights leader and advocate for African empowerment, the White House announced on Sunday.
The move came just hours before Biden handed over the presidency to Donald Trump.
Marcus Garvey, who passed away in 1940, was a pioneering figure in the African diaspora. He championed the idea of Pan-Africanism, urging people of African descent to return to Africa and reclaim the continent from European colonial powers.
Despite his influential legacy, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s, a conviction widely regarded as unjust.
His five-year prison sentence was later commuted by President Calvin Coolidge, after which Garvey was deported to Jamaica.
The White House statement highlighted Garvey’s significant contributions, including the founding of the Black Star Line, the first Black-owned international shipping line, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which celebrated African culture and history.
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. once described Garvey as the first man of colour in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement.
Garvey’s influence extended to Rastafarianism, where he was revered as a prophetic figure, inspiring reggae icon Bob Marley and others through his resistance to colonialism and racism.
His vision of African empowerment and economic independence continues to resonate globally.
The pardon was one of five announced by the Biden administration. Others included Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate; Ravi Ragbir, an immigrant rights leader; Don Scott, a Virginia lawmaker; and Kemba Smith Pradia, a criminal justice reform advocate. All had been convicted of non-violent offences.
The announcement follows a series of clemencies granted by Biden in the final weeks of his presidency, including the controversial pardon of his son, Hunter Biden.
