Why was Marcus Garvey deported? Biden pardons civil rights leader on last full day in office 

Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican civil rights activist, the founding father of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and an owner of the Black Star Line shipping company. In 1923, Garvey was deported following a controversial conviction for mail fraud. He was accused of mail fraud connected to the Black Line Shipping Company, a company he created to connect 400 million people of African descent around the world with their native motherland in Africa.

The primary claim that implicated him and his group was that they misdirected investors by making exaggerated claims about the success and financial strength of the company in their mail advertisements.

One of the main allegations, for example, involved a flyer showing a vessel that the Black Star Line did not yet own, which was said to be a deliberate attempt to dupe prospective investors. Garvey rebutted these allegations by arguing that they were politically motivated and part of an effort to destroy his leadership and the aims of his organization.

Garvey's sentence was reduced to two years by President Calvin Coolidge; however, in 1927, he was deported to Jamaica. While this may have stopped his activism in the course of the U.S., he inspired future civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Marcus Garvey’s advocates, from Jamaica and beyond, have always maintained that his conviction in the United States was nothing but a political scheme. Most believe that his legacy ought to be free from the shadows of what they perceive as a legally jejune case.

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Pardoning of Marcus Garvey

On his final full day in office, Joe Biden pardoned Marcus Garvey. The response to Garvey's pardon has been overwhelming,, to say the least. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness took to his X to share the posthumous pardon. Holness said:

"The Jamaican Government welcomes the posthumous pardon of our National Hero the Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey. We consider this as a first step in the total exoneration, absolution and expungement of a historical wrong done to one of the most significant civil rights leader and Pan Africanist."

He also acknowledged the long effort involved and thanked several groups for their support, including the Garvey family (especially Julius Garvey), the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association), private citizens who signed petitions, supporters of Jamaica, the Jamaican diaspora, and various Jamaican governments that consistently appealed to the U.S. for this consideration.

Dr. Julius Garvey, Marcus Garvey's son, has fought to exonerate the name of his father for a long time. In an interview on CNN, he said:

"We are using it as a means to exonerate and clear my dad's name. There is abundant legal evidence that the trial itself was a farce. It was a political trial."

Marcus Garvey's pardon by President Joe Biden is a step in the right direction towards correcting a historical wrong and giving due recognition to Garvey's invaluable contributions to civil rights and Pan-Africanism. While his conviction and deportation nearly silenced his activism in America, Garvey's vision resonates today with civil rights leaders and civil rights movements across the globe.

The efforts of his family, the Jamaican government, and countless advocates serve as a testament to the enduring impact of his legacy and the importance of justice, even decades later.