Outgoing U.S. president, Joe Biden, has issued a posthumous pardon to Jamaican national hero, Marcus Garvey.
The pardon comes more than a century after Garvey was convicted for mail fraud in the United States. The conviction has long been criticised as being politically and racially motivated.
Supporters of Garvey say the conviction was meant to silence an increasingly popular black leader who tried to inspire racial pride.
Several prominent members of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus, including Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, had urged Biden to right what was widely viewed as a historical wrong. Jamaica’s culture minister, Olivia Grange, had also urged successive U.S. presidents to issue the pardon.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Mark Golding have both hailed Biden’s decision to pardon Garvey.
Garvey was deported to Jamaica following the controversial conviction. He was born in St. Ann’s Bay in August 1887. He died in London in 1940.
His body was returned to Jamaica in 1964 through the efforts of then culture minister, Edward Seaga.
In 1969, Garvey was named Jamaica’s first national hero.
