Marcus Garvey Begins Federal Prison Sentence

After his 1923 conviction for mail fraud related to Black Star Line stock sales—a prosecution aided by J. Edgar Hoover's Bureau of Investigation—Marcus Garvey began serving his five-year sentence at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in 1925. He served two years before being pardoned by President Coolidge in 1927 and immediately deported to Jamaica, effectively ending his American movement. Supporters viewed his prosecution as politically motivated.