Jamaican leaders are today (January 19) welcoming the posthumous pardon of National Hero Marcus Garvey by US President Joe Biden on what amounts to his last day in office.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in a brief statement on X (formerly Twitter), said that the pardon “honours his [Garvey’s] contributions to human rights and justice”.

“Today, we welcome the historic decision by President Joe Biden to posthumously pardon our first national hero, The Right Excellent Marcus Garvey, one of Jamaica’s greatest sons and a global icon for unity and empowerment. Garvey’s legacy of self-determination and racial pride continues to inspire generations,” he added.

A follow-up communiqué from the prime minister’s X account indicated that the pardon was embraced by the entire Jamaican government.

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… pic.twitter.com/x4g2Byqkkx

— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) January 19, 2025

Opposition Leader Mark Golding likened the posthumous pardon to a triumphant acknowledgement of a legacy restored.

Golding, in embracing the move, mused that “Garvey’s exoneration corrects a grave historical miscarriage of justice that resulted from an illegal, intelligence-led operation designed to disable the influential 19th century Pan Africanist movement the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), that had captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands of people of African descent.”

“President Biden’s action acknowledges the profound impact that Garvey had in shaping the narratives of freedom, equality, and justice. Garvey’s principles of unity and self-determination served to solidify and embolden the mandate of social justice movements in Africa and its diaspora; and will also encourage a new generation of Pan Africanist advocates to assume a mantle of leadership with a renewed sense of purpose,” he continued.

The pardon culminates a renewed push for Biden to exonerate Garvey, led by several US legislators, including Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke, who personally wrote to the president.

Previously, the Jamaican Diaspora launched a petition drive to raise thousands of signatures but fell short of the target.

The national hero was among five pardoned by Biden on Sunday.

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