Dear Editor,

During President Obama’s visit there were calls by some for the American Government to exonerate Marcus Garvey. Indeed, it was reported that Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller herself asked the American president to do all he can to pardon Garvey. However, I am still at a loss as to why we would want Garvey exonerated.

First of all, if Garvey was indeed guilty of the charges for which he was convicted, then it would seem unethical to ask for him to be forgiven. If, on the other hand, he was innocent, then I really don’t think it should really matter to those who adore him what the American Government thinks of him. As such, exonerating Garvey would be a waste of time.

Interestingly, this call for Garvey’s exoneration, to me, seems like the perfect diversion. Assuming Garvey to be innocent, what those who are calling for the Americans to exonerate the man should really be doing is fulfil the man’s aspirations for the black race.

In others words, I would have thought that Garvey’s call for black people to take charge of their own destiny and to become the great race that we can should hold true whether or not Garvey is exonerated. I wonder if the reason we have yet to become a great race is because the American government has yet to have him exonerated.

There is a reason I don’t take Garvey’s message seriously, and this call for his exoneration only strengthens my conviction that Garvey’s message was a waste of time. We have proven ourselves not able to actualise what Garvey wanted for us.

This call for exoneration is a reflection of another of our problems as a people: It’s this inferiority complex that we continue to project to the rest of the world.

Notice that those of us who are demanding exoneration don’t seem to care too much that Garvey is a powerful symbol for many black people? Clearly, those who are calling for Garvey’s exoneration don’t think that it is good enough that black people consider the man to be great. For these people, Garvey can only be great if white people think so too. They continue to insist that the American Government recognises his greatness by exonerating him.

My advice to these “exonerationists” is to ignore what the Americans think of Garvey. As I see it, we have two choices, either we do all we can to actualise Garvey’s dream for us, or if we lack the ability to do so — which, as far as I can see, is what everything is telling me must be the case — then we should just forget about Garvey and let the dead man rest in peace. Exoneration will make no difference.

Michael A Dingwall

michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com