LoginDetroit Evening Report: Biden pardons the late Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, others
On his last day in office, President Joe Biden posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s.
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Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey, with supporters arguing that Garvey’s conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride. After Garvey was convicted, he was deported to Jamaica, where he was born. He died in 1940.
He was an influential figure to other civil rights leaders, including Malcolm X and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who said of Garvey: “He was the first man, on a mass scale and level” to give millions of Black people “a sense of dignity and destiny.”
Biden has set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued, announcing Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.
He also gave a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes, and issued pardons for a top Virginia lawmaker and advocates for immigrant rights, criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention.
Reporting by Colleen Long, Associated Press
Other headlines for Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2024:
- Law enforcement across the state say they struggle to find beds for people in need of mental health care. A bill in the state House aims to repurpose the Standish Max Correctional Facility near Bay City to offer those services.
- Detroit’s Historic Boston-Edison Association says it will replace light poles and fixtures in the neighborhood with a more “appropriate” historic design that will improve safety and visibility. The neighborhood association says license plate readers will also be installed throughout the area, beginning at the intersection of Rosa Parks and Chicago Boulevard.
- Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell spoke at President Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Trump visited Sewell’s 180 Church during the 2024 campaign and promised the pastor time at the podium on inauguration day if elected.
- Detroit Councilmember Fred Durhal has announced he will make a special announcement next week about his intention to run for mayor. He will hold an event at the Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
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