Caribbean American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke and Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson introduced a bill in the House of Representatives on Friday that would clear Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey, of any wrongdoing and recognize him as a fighter for the freedom of people of African descent.
Clarke, who is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, said, “The world deserves to know the truth about Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the truth about Black history.”
The first vice-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus also said, “I was raised on the ideas of Marcus Garvey.”
“I was raised to believe that we need to work together to make our communities better. And I was raised with a lot of faith in God and the Garvey family’s commitment to social service.
“It’s time to show Congress, America, and the rest of the world what Garvey did and what he accomplished as a human rights activist,” Clarke said.
She said that the resolution “clears Garvey of his false accusations and asks President Biden to acknowledge and condemn the racist attacks on him and his work.”
The congresswoman said, “America must fix these wrongs and bring back Garvey’s legacy.” “And now is the time to do it.”
Johnson, who represents Georgia’s 4th Congressional District, said that freeing Garvey is “an idea whose time has come.
“The original charges against him were completely false, and his legacy and contributions to Black history in our country are so important that it’s time to right this fundamental wrong,” he said.
Johnson also said, “I’m proud to cosponsor this important resolution with my respected colleague, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, especially during Black History Month.” “And since the movement to clear Marcus Garvey’s name has been growing, it’s time to fix this wrong.”
Garvey was a Black nationalist who was born in Jamaica and was the leader of the Pan-Africanism movement. This movement tried to bring together and connect people of African descent all over the world.
He was a well-known civil rights activist in the United States. He started the Negro World newspaper, the Black Star Line shipping company, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
The resolution praises Garvey as a human rights activist and wants to keep his legacy alive by clearing him of false charges brought against him by the US Government. It also asks the US President to do what needs to be done to clear his name.
Biography.com says that Marcus Garvey, who lived from 1887 to 1940, was a civil rights activist for the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements. To do this, he started UNIA and the African Communities League.
It said that Garvey, who was born in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, on August 17, 1887, promoted a Pan-African philosophy that “inspired a global mass movement called “Garveyism.”
According to biography.com, Garvey and three other UNIA officials were charged with mail fraud in 1922 because of the Black Star Line.
It said that Garvey was found guilty on June 23, 1923, and sent to prison for five years.
He tried to get his conviction overturned by saying that it was unfair because of politics, but biography.com said that his request was turned down.
It said that Garvey got out of jail in 1927 and was sent back to Jamaica, where he kept being a political activist.
He moved to London eight years later, where he died in 1940 after having several strokes, according to biography.com.
It said that Garvey’s body was buried in London because World War II made it hard to travel.
But in 1964, his body was dug up and taken to Jamaica, where he was named the country’s first national hero and reburied in the National Heroes Park at a shrine.
