America is a country,” Pres. Joe Biden said in a statement announcing the pardon alongside four others, “built on the promise of second chances.”

He became world-renowned, as well as controversial, because of his actions and statements about black empowerment at a time when the concept was virtually unknown. Now, Marcus Garvey, the organizational leader who ended up being convicted of mail fraud a century ago,

Civil rights advocates and lawmakers have long said that Mr. Garvey’s 1923 conviction for mail fraud was unjust, arguing that he was targeted for his work.