Celebrating the Rt. Excellent Marcus Garvey, ICS announces Campaign for a Posthumous Pardon at Garvey Birthday Celebrations in Kingston, Jamaica
WASHINGTON, DC – The family of Marcus Garvey will hold a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC, to formally announce their petition to the White House for a posthumous Presidential Pardon.
The press conference will be held on Wednesday, August 17th, the 129th anniversary of the birthday of prominent civil rights leader, the Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jamaica’s first national hero.
The Garvey family, under the leadership of Julius W. Garvey, M.D., the youngest son of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, lawyers from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, who have been advising the family on a pro bono basis, along with longtime advocate, Justin Hansford, ESQ. a St. Louis University Law Professor and Harvard University Democracy Project Fellow, will celebrate the birthday with a kick-off of the campaign in support of the petition.
The press conference is expected to be attended by Garvey family members, legal representatives, leaders of the Caribbean Diaspora, and several Congressional Black Caucus members, who are joining the call for Garvey’s name to be cleared of the 1923 charges with a Presidential Pardon.
In Jamaica, celebrations for the birthday begin with a Floral Tribute at 8:00am at the National Heroes Park in Kingston, attended by the Governor General and political leaders.
This will be followed by a Drum Call and Lecture at Liberty Hall, where Dr. Claire Nelson, ICS Founding President, and a member of the Support Committee, will announce the Exoneration Campaign, prior to the lecture by Dr. Donna McFarlane, Director & Curator of Liberty Hall, who will be the featured speaker.
The day’s celebration will continue with commemorations at the birthplace of Garvey in St. Ann, and a Gala Awards benefit for the Universal Negro Improvement Association at Somali Court (a former residence of Marcus Garvey) in Kingston.
During the 100 day Campaign, Caribbean Diaspora organizations will among other things organize cultural expositions, fora, lectures, to shed light on the legacy of Garvey and provide support for this effort to right a wrong which has long been a thorn in the side of people of African descent and especially Caribbean Americans, whose ancestors immigrated to the US through Ellis Island almost 100 years ago.
This Campaign builds on activities organized by the Universal Negro Improvement Association; the Foundation for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey; the National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organizations; the Institute of Caribbean Studies; and others on and off over the past twenty years.
