Members of the Congress of the United States of America have written to outgoing US President Joe Biden to exonerate Jamaica’s National Hero the Most Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey of his 1923 conviction for fraudulent use of mail.

The signatures of 21 members were affixed to the letter headed by American Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican Lesley Clarke and former US Councilwoman Una Clarke.

The letter was addressed to Biden on December 20, 2024 in what is another attempt to clear the name of Garvey who was convicted in the United States of America 101 years ago.

Garvey, who was born in St Ann’s Bay in 1887 became a trade unionist fighting for the rights of Jamaicans. In 1914 he formed the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) before moving to the USA and continued his fight for equal rights for blacks worldwide.

His vision was to end the European colonial rule in Africa and advocated the political unification of the continent. Believing that black people needed financial independence from white-dominated societies, Garvey launched various businesses in the USA including the Negro Factories Corporation and the Negro World newspaper.

In 1919, he became President of the Black Star Line shipping company designed to take blacks back to Africa. But in 1923 Garvey was convicted of mail fraud for selling the company’s stock and he was imprisoned in Atlanta, USA for two years. It was believed at the time that his conviction was politically motivated in a time of deep hatred and racism.

Below is the letter addressed to the US Congress.