WaPo Quotes Tony Pierce on Marcus Garvey Posthumous Pardon Petition

Akin Gump Washington, D.C. partner in charge Anthony Pierce was quoted by The Washington Post in its article “Descendants of Marcus Garvey press Biden for posthumous pardon.”

The article discusses a posthumous pardon petition the firm previously filed on behalf of Dr. Julius Garvey and his family. The petition, part of a longstanding pro bono effort led by Akin Gump, requests a presidential pardon for his late father, African American civil rights activist and pioneer Marcus Garvey, of a criminal conviction widely seen as having been racially and politically motivated.

Garvey opened one of the first-ever Black-owned shipping companies, the Black Star Line, a shipping and passenger company that would “facilitate the travel of Black people to Africa.” Speaking on the company, Pierce said, “The company was incorporated with capital stock equivalent to $5 million today. It was the audacity of founding the Black Star Line that drew the attention of federal investigators. And ultimately, the company’s financial downfall led to Garvey’s prosecution for mail fraud in a trial replete with reversible errors and questionable evidence.”

According to the publication, following a five-week trial, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud, sentenced to five years in prison and fined $1,000. On the conviction, Pierce remarked that Garvey’s sentence revolved around the allegation that he defrauded one investor out of $25, adding, “Marcus Garvey was targeted because of political and social efforts, not because of anything to do with the Black Star Line.”

To read more on this effort, click here.