In one of his final acts as the leader of the country, President Joe Biden issued a posthumous pardon to Black nationalist Marcus Garvey on Sunday (Jan. 19). The early civil rights figure led a movement against racial inferiority in the U.

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.

Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), the first Black person to serve as speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, was convicted in 1994 of a non-violent federal drug-related offense.