Julian Pierce

Julian Thomas Pierce (1946–1988) was an American lawyer and Lumbee civil rights activist.

Early life[]

Julian Pierce was born in Moore County, North Carolina^[1] on January 2, 1946 to John Sampson Pierce and Mary Jane Perkins Pierce. He was one of thirteen children. At sixteen, Pierce graduated from Hawkeye High School. He then attended the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in Pembroke, North Carolina on full scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry.^[1]

Early career[]

His early career was spent working as a chemist for the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia. He later worked as a chemist in the Navy Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. There he developed an award-winning chemical process for decontamination of nuclear reactors.^[1] After several years of working as a chemist, Pierce attended law school at the North Carolina Central University School of Law. After graduation from NCCU in 1976, he was offered a position with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.. While working there, Pierce attended Georgetown School of Law to earn his Master of Laws in Taxation.^[1]

Civil rights[]

In 1978, he returned to North Carolina to become the first director of the Lumbee River Legal Services, a poverty law office in Pembroke. For ten years, Pierce worked at Lumbee River Legal Services to raise the standard of legal care for the poor citizens of Robeson County. He took part in merging the tri-school board system into a one-school board system in the county so that all children would receive equal educational funding.^[1] In 1987, Pierce, along with others petitioned the United States Department of the Interior for federal acknowledgment and entry to tribal rolls for the Lumbee. The petition was denied due to language in the Lumbee Act of 1956. The group then introduced a recognition bill, but it failed due to opposition from the Department of the Interior and from other recognized tribes.^[1]

Political candidacy[]

In 1988, the North Carolina General Assembly created a new Superior Court Judgeship in Robeson County. Joe Freeman Britt, the county's district attorney, was the first to announce his candidacy. While Pierce did not have the popularity of Britt, many people knew him from his numerous community service roles such as when he was Chairman of the Lumbee Medical Clinic, on the board of directors of the North Carolina Legal Resource Center, or Vice-Chairman of the Robeson Health Care Corporation.^[1] Seeing an opportunity to be the first Native American superior court judge in North Carolina, Pierce resigned from his position as director of Lumbee River Legal Services and began his campaign for the position.^[1]

Death[]

On March 26, 1988, just a few weeks before the election, Pierce's body was found in his home with shotgun wounds to his head, chest, and stomach. Though local law enforcement claimed they had located the murderer, who committed suicide prior to an arrest or trial taking place, the reasons for the murder continue to be debated.^[2] In the aftermath, Britt was automatically declared the winner of the primary election. However, some reporters and campaign workers counted the votes and determined that Pierce actually won the vote posthumously, 10,787 to 8,231.^[1]

Honors[]

• Pierce-Hickerson Award - An award created in 2003 by the National Legal Aid & Defender Association and named in honor of Native American legal aid leaders Julian T. Pierce and Robert Hickerson. It is awarded to individuals for outstanding advocacy in pursuit of justice for Native Americans.
• Julian T Pierce Award - An award established in 1994 by Legal Aid of North Carolina to recognize an outstanding attorney and advocate of equal justice in the state.
• Julian T. Pierce Health Center - A health center located in Pembroke, North Carolina and named for Pierce on behalf of his work to improve health care for low-income populations.

References[]