The Exoneration of Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey was the most outstanding and influential civil rights and anti-colonial leader of the early twentieth century. His movement, which espoused Black pride and Black self-reliance, economic independence and Black unity, garnered unprecedented support around the world.
In May 1923, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in relation to the operation of his signature program for Black economic independence, the BlackStarLine. He was sent to prison and later deported. He could never return to the United States, and his global movement for racial and economic justice would never again regain the same level of momentum.
COMPLETELY INNOCENT Garvey made no profit from the BlackStarLine and invested much of his own personal earnings and reputation into the company. TARGETED BY J. EDGAR HOOVER Using COINTELPRO tactics like infiltration and sabotage, Hoover targeted Garvey as part of a lifelong obsession to neutralize the rise of a “Black Messiah.” DENIED A FAIR TRIAL Garvey’s conviction took place in a trial replete with bias and error, including insufficient evidence, perjury by a witness at the initiation of the government, and his proceeding as a criminal defendant without the benefit of a lawyer.
Subsequent research has confirmed the long held suspicion that Garvey was wrongfully convicted, targeted for his civil rights advocacy. Here’s what we now know:
Marcus Garvey’s descendants are now urging the President to grant him a posthumous exoneration, restoring his good name and beginning the process of reparation for this wrong committed against the global community of African peoples.
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