We have reached the final stages of our campaign to exonerate my father, Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
We have filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Justice and with the White House Council.
This is the last legal avenue open to us as Congressman Rangel has tried with repeated Congressional House Resolutions and Congressman John Conyers has tried through the House Judiciary Committee.
We are asking your support for this Posthumous Presidential Pardon.
Please see the attached prototypical letter which you are free to alter in anyway you see fit. It can also be on your letterhead or the letterhead of your organization.
The letter should be sent to Akin Gump Strauss Haurer and Feld, LLP; Robert S. Strauss Building, 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036-1564; to the attention of Melissa Chastang, as they have created the legal document, or it may be emailed to [email protected].
We are also asking you to reach out to your circle of friends and or committed people to share this letter and it's intent, so that they too can support our effort, which is not just for the family but for all Africans, those at Home and those Abroad.
Thank you very much for your anticipated support in this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Julius W. Garvey, M.D.
You can copy and paste the letter below. Insert your information as indicated.
****************************** ****************************** ***********************
Statement in Support of Posthumous Presidential Pardon of Marcus Mosiah Garvey
In recognition of his lifelong and substantial contributions to society, his efforts to uplift peoples of African descent the world over, and his work to promote economic independence as a means of social progress,
[INSERT NAME OF THE UNDERSIGNED] stands in support of the descendants of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who now seek a posthumous presidential pardon on Garvey's behalf.
Marcus Garvey lives in history as one of the first leaders of the American civil rights movement. In the early twentieth century, he was an advocate for the social, political, and economic independence of those of African descent across the world, and Garvey staked his name and his movement on the development of economic opportunity as a source of black empowerment. To unite his followers toward a common goal of social progress, Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association ("UNIA"), which at its height boasted nearly 6 million members in 40 countries. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "He was the first man on a mass scale and level to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and destiny. And make the Negro feel that he was somebody."
[INSERT PARAGRAPH RE GARVEY'S INFLUENCE/ROLE WITH THE UNDERSIGNED -WHY DOES THE ORGANIZATION CARE?]
Because of these achievements, Garvey was viewed as a threat to the established order by the U.S. government. Decades before Dr. King would become targeted for his activism, J. Edgar Hoover led the Bureau of Investigation in its surveillance of Garvey and actively sought methods to disrupt and destroy Garvey's civil rights movement. In 1923, based on intelligence gathered from undercover agents posing as Garvey supporters and aided by judicial proceedings that have largely been condemned as factually unsound and politically and racially motivated, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to five years in federal prison. In partial recognition of the unsettling facts underlying the prosecution of the case, President Calvin Coolidge commuted the sentence in November 1927, but deported Garvey from the country.
The posthumous pardon petition now filed on Garvey's behalf seeks to exonerate him from the stigma of this conviction. Following the commutation of his sentence, efforts to fully clear Garvey's name have been ongoing and concerted on the part of the U.S. Congress, civil society organizations, cities, states, and international groups. More than 90 years after the imposition of this injustice, it is time to pardon Marcus Mosiah Garvey and let history reflect the true nature of his legacy.
Sincerely,
We have reached the final stages of our campaign to exonerate my father, Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
We have filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Justice and with the White House Council.
This is the last legal avenue open to us as Congressman Rangel has tried with repeated Congressional House Resolutions and Congressman John Conyers has tried through the House Judiciary Committee.
We are asking your support for this Posthumous Presidential Pardon.
Please see the attached prototypical letter which you are free to alter in anyway you see fit. It can also be on your letterhead or the letterhead of your organization.
The letter should be sent to Akin Gump Strauss Haurer and Feld, LLP; Robert S. Strauss Building, 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036-1564; to the attention of Melissa Chastang, as they have created the legal document, or it may be emailed to [email protected].
We are also asking you to reach out to your circle of friends and or committed people to share this letter and it's intent, so that they too can support our effort, which is not just for the family but for all Africans, those at Home and those Abroad.
Thank you very much for your anticipated support in this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Julius W. Garvey, M.D.
You can copy and paste the letter below. Insert your information as indicated.
****************************** ****************************** ***********************
Statement in Support of Posthumous Presidential Pardon of Marcus Mosiah Garvey
In recognition of his lifelong and substantial contributions to society, his efforts to uplift peoples of African descent the world over, and his work to promote economic independence as a means of social progress,
[INSERT NAME OF THE UNDERSIGNED] stands in support of the descendants of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who now seek a posthumous presidential pardon on Garvey's behalf.
Marcus Garvey lives in history as one of the first leaders of the American civil rights movement. In the early twentieth century, he was an advocate for the social, political, and economic independence of those of African descent across the world, and Garvey staked his name and his movement on the development of economic opportunity as a source of black empowerment. To unite his followers toward a common goal of social progress, Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association ("UNIA"), which at its height boasted nearly 6 million members in 40 countries. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "He was the first man on a mass scale and level to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and destiny. And make the Negro feel that he was somebody."
[INSERT PARAGRAPH RE GARVEY'S INFLUENCE/ROLE WITH THE UNDERSIGNED -WHY DOES THE ORGANIZATION CARE?]
Because of these achievements, Garvey was viewed as a threat to the established order by the U.S. government. Decades before Dr. King would become targeted for his activism, J. Edgar Hoover led the Bureau of Investigation in its surveillance of Garvey and actively sought methods to disrupt and destroy Garvey's civil rights movement. In 1923, based on intelligence gathered from undercover agents posing as Garvey supporters and aided by judicial proceedings that have largely been condemned as factually unsound and politically and racially motivated, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to five years in federal prison. In partial recognition of the unsettling facts underlying the prosecution of the case, President Calvin Coolidge commuted the sentence in November 1927, but deported Garvey from the country.
The posthumous pardon petition now filed on Garvey's behalf seeks to exonerate him from the stigma of this conviction. Following the commutation of his sentence, efforts to fully clear Garvey's name have been ongoing and concerted on the part of the U.S. Congress, civil society organizations, cities, states, and international groups. More than 90 years after the imposition of this injustice, it is time to pardon Marcus Mosiah Garvey and let history reflect the true nature of his legacy.
Sincerely,