Members of the community are invited to a Black History Month celebration this weekend honoring a lesser-known political activist in American history.

Pamoja Place, a nonprofit organization on South Whidbey, is hosting its second annual Stronger Together event in partnership with the Clyde Theatre in Langley this Saturday, Feb. 22. Attendees will see a PBS documentary on Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a Jamaican international justice leader and the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, or UNIA.

Garvey posthumously received a pardon from President Joe Biden during his final days in office. Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s, which supporters believed was a way of silencing him from speaking out about taking pride in being Black, among other important issues of the time. Garvey, who died in 1940, influenced several other prominent movements and activists, including Martin Luther King Jr.

“I encourage everyone to come if they are interested in a part of U.S. history that is not widely known, that’s in the process of attempting to be erased,” Marcella Pendergrass said.

Pendergrass serves on a board of elders in an advisory capacity for Pamoja Place. Along with Executive Director Kenesha Lewin, she is helping to organize the event.

“Both of us have benefited in one way or another from the groundwork he laid,” Pendergrass said. “She as an immigrant from Jamaica and myself as the descendant of Black slaves in the United States, and we thought it would be wonderful for the community to know who Marcus Garvey was and maybe why he got a pardon (over) 60 years after his death.”

Pamoja Place is dedicated to growing community and a sense of belonging for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) individuals. The organization recently won the Umoja award from Kwanzaa Awards.

The event on Saturday will include Lewin as a guest speaker and a performance by LaChersa. Donations are welcome.

“Any place that’s mission is to uplift and encourage diversity and equity is not looking to get a lot of funds from the federal government in the next few years,” Pendergrass said.

Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for the celebration, which runs 1-3 p.m.