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Having read the autobiography of Mr. Marcus Mosiah Garvey, and some of his seminal writings, it would be appropriate to consider what his reaction might have been towards having been pardoned by the United States Federal Government, with the mere stroke of a pen, by former President Joe Biden, recently, for the crime of mail fraud.

Given that Mr. Garvey was an ardent advocate of Black pride which, no doubt, included his race not taking anything that could be viewed as paternalistic handouts, how might he have reacted to the pardon were he alive today? Assuming that he felt, at the time, that he was falsely charged, falsely tried, falsely convicted, and falsely imprisoned for mail fraud about 102 years ago, in 1923, how would he have responded to those now saying to him, “We forgive you.” and, “You are free, go in peace”?

Why should he have expressed and in what manner should he have shown a modicum of gratitude to a race of people and to a system which had wrongfully enslaved his people, which had persistently oppressed them, and which had callously brutalized them? Would not glorying in such a presidential pardon, as well intentioned as it was, be equal to a victim saying: “Thank you for giving me back my wallet after robbing me,” or “I am so grateful that you did not murder me after having so cruelly violated my body.”

By what standards of morality was he convicted in 1923 and then pardoned in 2025? For whose benefit was the pardon issued — for Mr. Garvey himself, for his descendants, or for the people of Jamaica? Would not accepting a pardon be deemed an admission of guilt, seeing that the word, essentially, means, “the action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offence.”?

Mr. Garvey often made reference to the Christian Bible. In that religious book there is a passage which reads as follows:

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” — Hebrews 11:24-27

And, later down in the chapter, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews went on to say that: “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:” — Hebrews 11:35.

As we can see from the text, Moses did not need the Egyptian empire to validate his worth, nor did those unnamed Christians who were tortured need the same official act of mercy from their tormentors. Did the presidential pardon, therefore, serve as some sort of validation of Mr. Garvey’s integrity and of his contributions to his race, to his country, and, by extension, to the world?

There is no record, if one thinks about it, that Jesus of Nazareth was ever pardoned by the Roman Empire for treason, having been accused of defying the authority of Caesar, by being proclaimed “The King of The Jews”. And yet, that did not have a negative impact upon Him being worshipped by millions as “The Son of The Living God.”

And so, does Mr. Garvey need white, American, racist imperialism to validate him? This writer does not think so, on the same basis that the greatness of Haitian leader Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803), did not need the validation of the French empire under Napoleon Bonaparte, who, incidentally, had placed a crown upon his own head.

Again, what of Ole Marcus Garvey? Did a pardon magnify his greatness or did his alleged crime diminish it? One only needs to review world history to see if that was the case.

Now, this writer is, by no means, unmindful of nor disparaging the comments made by Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, when he was quoted as saying in an official news release in response to the news of the pardon issued by Mr. Biden: “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.” 

This writer also recognizes the efforts of many people over many years who had worked tirelessly to obtain the pardon. There is a part of him, he will admit, which was caught up in the euphoria of the moment. But the rest of the world had long come to realize what the U.S. Government has just now come to recognize in a public and formal manner.

The Jamaican prime minister was also quoted as saying that: “As Prime Minister, I consider this clemency a first step toward the total exoneration and expungement of this historical injustice.” And in response to that statement again this writer asks, does the person and does the legacy of Mr. Marcus Garvey need such validation? But who could spurn moves towards exoneration in the legal system with or without a presidential pardon?

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Sr. ONH, (August 17, 1887 — June 10, 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL, commonly known as UNIA), through which he declared himself Provisional President of Africa. Ideologically a Black Nationalist and Pan-Africanist, his ideas came to be known as Garveyism. His ideas inspired Black nationalists of the 1960s like Malcolm X and countless others, including Nelson Mandela, who was the first democratically elected President of The Republic of South Africa.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, wrote in his autobiography that of all the works of literature that he had studied, the book that inspired him more than any other was The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. Nkrumah went on to name Ghana’s national shipping line the “Black Star Line”, and there is a Black Star Square in Accra. The Ghanaian flag also contains a black star. Ghana’s national football team is also nicknamed the Black Stars. A street in the Namibian capital of Windhoek was named after him.

The Vietnamese Communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh said that Garvey and Korean nationalists shaped his political outlook during his stay in America. A statue of Garvey stands along the Harris Promenade in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. The Brownsville neighbourhood in Brooklyn, New York City, is home to Marcus Garvey Village, which had its construction completed in 1976.

Marcus Garvey Park, located in Manhattan, New York, is one that “nurtures its entire community” and “provides pastimes for children, teens, adults, and the elderly.” His bust stands in the Hall of Heroes of the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.

In an article published in the Daily Gleaner newspaper in Jamaica on March 20, 2021 plans were announced for a bronze bust of Garvey to be installed at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by August 17th of that year to mark the 134th birthday of Jamaica’s first National Hero.

This writer is of the opinion that long after the president who signed that pardon has faded into the shadows of world history, the light of the legacy of Marcus Mosiah Garvey will continue to shine, and will gain greater significance in response to white racism — the world over — as racism thrashes about in desperate, futile fashion, like a frightened, snarling, cornered and, still, dangerous beast, during its last stand against the guardians of the fruits of Black consciousness, for its survival.

Mr. Garvey is not the one who needs a pardon, but this writer will say it and say it again, that it is the people and their government who had issued it who need a pardon. Let us not be too hasty in our exuberant response to this pardon, for it was Friedrich Nietzsche who said:

“If there is something to pardon in everything, there is also something to condemn.”

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