On Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, President Joe Biden pardoned Black nationalist and Pan Africanist Marcus Garvey, who was convicted of mail fraud in 1923. (Source: Screenshot - C-SPAN)

President Biden pardons Black nationalist Marcus Garvey

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden posthumously pardoned influential Pan-Africanist and Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who was wrongfully convicted of mail fraud.

Garvey, a seminal figure in Black history, was convicted of mail fraud in 1923 and subsequently deported to his home country of Jamaica, where he died in 1940.

Garvey’s activism and promotion of Black pride were celebrated and revered by many civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

Garvey was among five people pardoned on Sunday. Biden, who leaves office on Monday, also granted clemency to Michelle West who was serving two life sentences.

More on the life and legacy of Marcus Garvey, and President Biden’s pardons.

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