There's been a renewed thrust by the Jamaica Government to have the criminal record of its first National Hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, expunged.

Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in the United States of America (USA) in 1923.

In a statement to the House of Representatives at Gordon House, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Olivia Grange said the conviction tarnished his reputation and slowed his global movement, although it did not diminish the impact of his message on black people, worldwide.

For his contributions to the upliftment of his race, Garvey was named a National Hero but, in the Court records, he is still a criminal, she noted.

Grange said she wholeheartedly agreed with those before her who sought to have his name cleared, and lamented their lack of success.

She pointed out that in 1983 then Prime Minister Edward Seaga had asked President Ronald Reagan to grant a full pardon to Garvey, to no avail.

Since then, other efforts have been made.

In 2004 the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, under the impetus of then board member Professor Verene Shepherd, initiated a project to obtain the transcripts of the trial that led to his conviction.

Minister Grange presented three sets of the transcripts to Prime Minister Bruce Golding; the Leader of the Opposition Portia Simpson-Miller; and the Speaker of the House Delroy Chuck.

In making these presentations, I hope that we will be able to breathe new life into the discussions and movement to have The Rt. Excellent Marcus Garveys name cleared in the annals of history, she said.

Several Opposition MPs, including Simpson-Miller, as well as Government members have supported Governments continued efforts to clear Garveys name.