(Jamaica Gleaner) Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has welcomed Sunday’s decision by US President Joe Biden to grant a posthumous pardon to National Hero Marcus Garvey, calling it a “first step toward the total exoneration and expungement of this historical injustice”.
In a media release on Sunday, Holness said this is a momentous step toward righting a grave historical wrong committed against one of the most significant civil rights leaders and pan-Africanists in history.
“Today, January 19, 2025, will forever be remembered as a day of triumph for justice and a proud moment for the people of Jamaica. The removal of the unjust stain on Marcus Garvey’s name restores the full dignity and honour he has always deserved as a champion of freedom, empowerment, and equality,” Holness stated, while expressing gratitude to Biden, private citizens who signed petitions, the Jamaican diaspora, friends of Jamaica and successive Governments of Jamaica who lobbied for the pardon.
Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in 1923 and sentenced to five years of imprisonment, a conviction, Holness said, that tarnished the legacy of a visionary leader whose life was dedicated to the empowerment of people of African descent.
While his sentence was commuted by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927, successive Jamaican governments have worked to have his name fully cleared. This decision represents not just a victory for Jamaica but for justice, truth, and humanity, Holness said.
“As Prime Minister, I consider this clemency a first step toward the total exoneration and expungement of this historical injustice. In 2018, our Administration passed The National Heroes and Other Freedom Fighters (Absolu-tion from Criminal Liabi-lity in Respect of Specified Acts) Act, clearing the records of Jamaica’s National Heroes and freedom fighters who were wrongfully accused and convicted during their struggle for our freedom. This legislative action reflects Jamaica’s unwavering commitment to preserving the honour and legacy of those who fought for justice and equality,” he said.
In the meantime, the ruling Jamaica Labour Party also welcomed news of the pardon for Garvey.
JLP Chairman, Robert Montague said: “The conviction of the Right Excellent Marcus Garvey had been widely acknowledged across the globe as without credible basis and unjust. It is indeed an important step which transcends mere symbolism that the United States has moved to formally pardon our first national hero of a criminal conviction.”
Montague noted that Jamaica Labour Party administrations have for over 40-years been championing the cause to have Marcus Garvey both pardoned and fully exonerated from as early as the 1980s when former Prime Minister Edward Seaga lobbied then United States President Ronald Reagan on the issue.
Montague further stated: “More recently in February 2022, on the occasion of Jamaica’s 60th year of Independence, our Party Leader and Prime Minister, Dr The Most Honourable Andrew Holness wrote a formal letter to now outgoing United States President Joseph R Biden urging that Mr Garvey’s name be pardoned and that his name be ‘cleared, fully and unconditionally’. Our Culture Minister Olivia Grange also formally signed the petition for the United States to do the right thing and pardon Marcus Garvey, while also issuing an unconditional exoneration. It is in that context that we particularly welcome the development today as a step in the right direction”.
