Garvey's pardon 'corrects a grave historical miscarriage of justice' - Golding
Published:Sunday | January 19, 2025 | 11:23 AM
People's National Party President, Mark Golding, says the presidential pardon granted to National Hero Marcus Garvey "corrects a grave historical miscarriage of justice."
US President Joe Biden on Sunday posthumously pardoned the black nationalist who influenced Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders and was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s.
In a media statement on Sunday, Golding acknowledged the development, stating that Biden’s action acknowledges the profound impact that Garvey had in shaping the narratives of freedom, equality, and justice.
"Marcus 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," Golding stated.
Golding said 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.
"The decision is a call to action to African peoples to advance the agenda that Mr. Garvey was promoting over a century ago.It is a vindication of the principles for which Garvey stood," Golding stated.
He added: "While grave issues of inequity and imbalance continue to face African peoples and the Diaspora, this action provides a beacon of hope— and is an emblem of resilience and determination. Action, self-reliance, the vision of self and the future have been the only means by which the oppressed have seen and realised the light of their own freedom. Let us continue to draw inspiration from his life and work, pushing forward with strength and unity as we strive for a brighter, more just future for all. "
Golding said the willingness to right historical wrongs not only restores honour to Marcus Garvey but also paves the way for future dialogues on race, equality, and justice.
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