Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Ujima People’s Progress Party Statement on Governor Wes Moore’s Marijuana Conviction Pardons
Ujima People’s Progress Party
26 Jun 2024
🖨️ Print Article
Wes Moore signing
Photo: Maryland Office of the Governor

Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently issued pardons for over 175,000 people in a show of "progress" in criminal justice reform. But these pardons barely scratch the surface of the destruction of black working-class communities and serve to draw people from the fight for true reparations from the war on drugs.  

One might conclude that Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s pardoning of over 175,000 low-level marijuana convictions is a “step in the right direction” in reforming the criminal justice system. Add to this the timing of the announcement on the eve of the Juneteenth holiday, and the optics make for good public relations for Moore.

But when one peels back the layers of the actual act and Moore’s more significant criminal justice record thus far, it becomes clear that the gesture is more performative public relations than the radical substantive change needed.  We will outline a few reasons why:

  1. Pardons do not expunge criminal records, which is a significant barrier that returning citizens face, be it employment, student debt relief, and often for professional licensing and housing;
  2. No one in Maryland is currently incarcerated for misdemeanor marijuana convictions. The pardons free no one from jail;
  3. This is “back door” action when “front door” action is needed, which impacts charging decisions, pretrial detention, and alternatives such as diversion to mental health programs and mediations of disputes; and most importantly, Initiatives – 2024 | Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform (ma4jr.org);
  4. This pardon does not overturn possession convictions for those persons who experience a parole violation as a result of the conviction;
  5. The governor signed the 1990s-style “tough-on-crime” legislation earlier in the year primarily aimed at youth, which all but ensures the pipeline to incarceration will continue—1990s-style tough-on-crime approach wrong for juvenile justice | Juvenile Law Center (jlc.org).

This all occurs in a state that leads the nation in racial disparities in arrest, charges, and incarceration—Rethinking Approaches to Over Incarceration of Black Young Adults in Maryland - Justice Policy Institute.

Moore’s move does nothing to address the pain and suffering especially of Black working class families have endured. The so-called “war on drugs” was in reality a war on the Black community. Instead of bringing justice, the pardon attempts to get ahead of a struggle for reparations that would compensate the victims of that war and for an end to mass incarceration altogether.

Therefore, it is UPP’s position that this act should not be viewed as a significant step in dismantling a clearly racist criminal injustice system simply because it was implemented by a Black face.

For more on UPP, go to our website, www.uppmaryland.org and request a copy of the Progress Report, our fresh off-the-press newsletter, and join us.

Marijuana legalization
Prison
Reformism
Crime

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Erica Caines
“Crime”, The Trojan Horse For Colonial Control
24 September 2025
The rhetoric of crime prevention has always served to enforce colonial order.
Jon Jeter
Clutching at Pearls, the World’s Largest Criminal Enterprise, the US, Cracks Down on Crime
20 August 2025
The latest liberal discourse on crime offers useless panaceas to analyze the causes of violence and pathologizes communities while ab
PACA protest
Pan-African Community Action PACA
The Federal Takeover of D.C.: The Colonial Occupation Disguised as “Public Safety”
20 August 2025
The deployment of federal agents and National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: Attica Then and Now! Acklyn R. Lynch, 1971
06 August 2025
“The men at Attica were prepared to die for the democratic principles not only enunciated in their Manifesto, but experienced in their revolt…”
Reuven Blau
Blacks and Hispanics Seeking Parole Face Widening Racial Disparity, Report Finds
20 November 2024
After a damning revelation eight years ago, state leaders changed the make-up of the Parole Board to combat inequality.
Orisanmi Burton
An open letter to prison officials on the censorship of Tip of the Spear
09 October 2024
Orisanmi Birton's groundbreaking book, Tip of the Spear, has been listed as contraband in prisons across the country, not only preventing incar
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
REPORT: “The People Who Were Left to Die:” Horrors Suffered by Orleans Parish Prisoners in Wake of Katrina, ACLU, 2006
28 August 2024
Remembering the terrible plight of the incarcerated during Hurricane Katrina.
OJ Simpson at his trial
Gus Griffin
O.J. Simpson and Understanding the Black Support He Never Deserved
17 April 2024
O.J.
Mass incarceration
Max Parthas
The Evolution of Slavery
07 February 2024
In the U.S., a nation built on the enslavement and exploitation of humans, the system of slavery cannot be destroyed. It has mer
Biden's Marijuana Policy Frees No One
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Biden's Marijuana Policy Frees No One
12 October 2022
Biden's announcement of pardons for federal convictions of marijuana possession is meaningless.

More Stories


  • Case studies: US military assistance in Africa doesn’t work
    Jim Lobe
    Case studies: US Military Assistance in Africa Doesn’t Work
    23 Aug 2023
    ​​​​​​​Authors of a new report worry that Washington won’t heed their warnings but double down in an era of Great Power Competition.
  • How Washington Shapes ICC To Its Own Aims
    Maureen Clare Murphy
    How Washington Shapes ICC To Its Own Aims
    23 Aug 2023
    The International Criminal Court is itself criminal in its selective prosecutions and obedience to Washington's directives. In turn, the U.S. specifically prohibits aid to the Palestinian Authority…
  • Why Is the U.S. Now Favoring Accelerating the Formation of a Force to Intervene in Haiti?
    Narciso Isa Conde
    Why Is the U.S. Now Favoring Accelerating the Formation of a Force to Intervene in Haiti?
    23 Aug 2023
    The impending occupation of Haiti is the latest example of imperialist aggression against that nation and others.
  • Van Jones "Forced" Out of Nonprofit Dream.org, Despite Bezos’ Huge Contribution
    Chelsea Alexandra
    Van Jones "Forced" Out of Nonprofit Dream.org, Despite Bezos’ Huge Contribution
    23 Aug 2023
    Van Jones parlayed his fake leftist credentials into jobs at the Obama administration and CNN. The one-time phony Marxist turned Trump supporter showed his true colors when Amazon's Jeff Bezos…
  • Black Agenda Radio August 17, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio August 17, 2023
    18 Aug 2023
    U.S. and French imperialism in Niger, Cop City on the Atlanta ballot, and Jackson MS petitions the EPA for emergency action on their water system.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us