President Joe Biden has granted a series of pardons, including a historic posthumous pardon to Marcus Garvey, the influential civil rights leader who was convicted of mail fraud in 1923. The White House announced the pardons on Sunday, which included four other individuals and sentence commutations for two others.

Garvey, who died in 1940, was a pioneering figure in the civil rights movement and is credited as the first person to organize a mass movement among African-Americans. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and created the Black Star Line shipping company, organizations that celebrated African history and culture. His conviction, which many supporters have long argued was politically motivated, resulted in a five-year prison sentence that was later commuted by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927.

Among the other individuals receiving pardons are:

Ravidath 'Ravi' Ragbir, an immigration advocate convicted of a non-violent offense in 2001Kemba Smith Pradia, a criminal justice reform advocate previously convicted of a drug offense in 1994Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate with a non-violent drug offenseDon Leonard Scott, who was convicted of a non-violent drug offense in 1994 and later became Virginia's first Black speaker in the state legislature

Additionally, Biden commuted the sentences of Robin Peoples and Michelle West, both of whom were sentenced in the 1990s and have demonstrated significant rehabilitation according to the White House.

Congressional leaders had advocated for Garvey's pardon, highlighting the historical significance of addressing what many view as a politically motivated conviction aimed at silencing a prominent voice for racial pride and civil rights.