President Joe Biden on Sunday posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, whose influence shaped civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X. Garvey, convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s, was a figure of racial pride and empowerment. His conviction, which many argue was politically motivated, led to his deportation to his native Jamaica, where he died in 1940.
Congressional leaders had long advocated for Garvey’s pardon, emphasizing the unjust nature of his conviction. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once reflected on Garvey’s impact: “He was the first man, on a mass scale and level, to give millions of Black people a sense of dignity and destiny.”
In addition to Garvey, Biden granted pardons and commutations to individuals who have become champions of justice and reform. Among them:
- Don Scott, speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, who overcame a drug conviction in 1994 to become the first Black speaker of the chamber.
- Ravi Ragbir, an immigrant rights activist facing deportation after a nonviolent offense in 2001.
- Kemba Smith Pradia, a prison reform advocate who had her drug-related sentence commuted by President Bill Clinton in 2000.
- Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate who writes and studies solutions after serving time for a drug offense.
Biden also commuted the sentences of individuals like Michelle West, who was serving life for a drug conspiracy case, and Robin Peoples, convicted of bank robbery and sentenced under laws that would impose lighter penalties today.
The president’s actions highlight his commitment to justice and redemption, setting a historic record for the most individual pardons and commutations issued. On Friday, he also announced commutations for nearly 2,500 individuals convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.
Reflecting on his own pardon, Don Scott expressed gratitude: “I am deeply humbled to share that I have received a Presidential Pardon from President Joe Biden for a mistake I made in 1994 — one that changed the course of my life and taught me the true power of redemption.”
As Biden prepares to leave office, questions remain about whether he will extend pardons to individuals targeted or threatened by President-elect Donald Trump. Biden’s use of clemency powers continues to draw comparisons to Trump, who presided over an unprecedented number of federal executions during his first term.
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