Joe Biden Pardons Civil Rights Leader Marcus Garvey and Four Others on His Last Day in Office

On his final day as US president, Joe Biden granted pardons to five individuals, including the late civil rights leader Marcus Garvey. Additionally, he commuted the sentences of two others, as per a statement from the White House.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who passed away in 1940, was a key figure in the civil rights movement and influenced leaders such as Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela.

In 1923, he was convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to five years in prison. His sentence was later reduced by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927.

Garvey is widely regarded as the first person to organize a mass movement among African Americans, according to human rights organizations.

Supporters of Garvey argued that his conviction was part of an effort to discredit the Black Revolution during a time of racial unrest.

He founded the Black Star Line, a shipping company, and established the Universal Negro Improvement Association, an organization dedicated to honoring African history and culture, as noted by the White House.

Garvey was described as “the first man of colour in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement” by Martin Luther King Jr.

Garvey’s global advocacy and influence have been widely praised by supporters and lawmakers, who also emphasize the injustice surrounding his criminal conviction.

According to the White House statement, other individuals pardoned by President Biden on his final day in office include Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate who was convicted of a non-violent drug offense, and Ravidath “Ravi” Ragbir, an immigration advocate convicted of a non-violent offense in 2001.

Biden also pardoned Don Scott, who had been convicted of a non-violent drug offense in 1994 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Kemba Smith Pradia, a criminal justice advocate convicted of a non-violent drug offense in 1994 and sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Additionally, Biden commuted the sentences of Robin Peoples and Michelle West, who were sentenced in the 1990s and have shown remarkable rehabilitation.