ATTORNEY JOEL SANSONE ANNOUNCES A CIVIL LAWSUIT AGAINST MAYOR ED GAINEY AND THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH ON BEHALF OF HIS CLIENT, B. MARSHALL, AUG. 27. (PHOTO BY CHIEF IKHANA-HAL-MAKINA)
Sitting right now in federal court is a civil rights lawsuit filed against the City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor, Ed Gainey.
And the lawsuit was filed by another Black man, William “B.” Marshall, and his wife, Margo Marshall.
Together, through their attorney, Joel Sansone, they allege Mayor Gainey and other members of his administration conspired to
“take over” B. Marshall’s annual Juneteenth celebration, and when B. Marshall said no to the proposition, they conspired to hinder the Juneteenth celebrations.
The 18-page federal lawsuit, announced Wednesday, Aug. 27, inside Sansone’s offices on Stanwix Street, Downtown, read that the Marshalls are demanding “compensatory general damages against Defendant Pittsburgh in the amount proven at trial; compensatory special damages; cost of suit; reasonable attorney’s fees as permitted by law,” and other specifications.
The Marshalls feel as though their constitutional rights were violated, specifically the first and 14th amendments. The first amendment includes a person’s right to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, among other rights. The 14th amendment grants citizenship to all people born in the U.S. and guarantees them due process of law and equal protection.
News of the lawsuit has driven shockwaves throughout many members of the Pittsburgh-area’s African American community. Via social media platforms, thousands of people have weighed in on their thoughts of B. Marshall’s decision to file a lawsuit against the first Black mayor in Pittsburgh history. Others have said that they support B. Marshall’s decision to file the lawsuit, especially if there is evidence that the mayor intentionally tried to hinder the city’s primary Juneteenth festival, a festival that brought over 70,000 people to Mellon Park in Shadyside in June 2025.
B. Marshall’s lawsuit describes how Pittsburgh’s former mayor, Bill Peduto, agreed to give B. Marshall’s Juneteenth event at Point State Park city police protection in the wake of racially-motivated hate crimes that were occurring in the country in the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The city’s police protection was paid for by the city, not B. Marshall. B. Marshall has always contended that he should not pay for city police to protect Black people at his Juneteenth events, especially when Black people pay city taxes.
However, when the Gainey Administration took over in 2022, soon after, B. Marshall said the relationship between him and the city began to deteriorate. In May 2023, B. Marshall said he was contacted by Mayor Gainey’s then-Chief of Staff, Jake Wheatley, who told B. Marshall that the city would no longer “provide free security” for the Juneteenth celebration, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleges that the city wanted to “take over” the Juneteenth celebration from B. Marshall, and when he rebuffed, the city filed an application with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to hold its own Juneteenth celebration with the dates of June 16-22, 2024. Those dates, the lawsuit alleges, would have effectively knocked B. Marshall’s Juneteenth celebration out of Point State Park.
B. Marshall said when he found out about the application and discussed it in the public eye, the city withdrew its application.
B. Marshall also said that the city backed out on giving $125,000 to his Juneteenth celebration for 2024, and instead, opened the money up to a “Request For Proposals” process. B. Marshall said he applied for the funding, but lost out to Bounce Marketing, a company that already had ties to the mayor’s office.
Pittsburgh City Council stepped in and found an additional $125,000 to give to B. Marshall for his 2024 celebration at Point State Park.
“As part of the case, we’re going to play a podcast that Mayor Gainey sat for in which he admitted these constitutional violations,” voiced Sansone, Aug. 27.
When the New Pittsburgh Courier pressed Sansone as to “what ultimately” B. Marshall and his wife were looking to get out of the lawsuit, Sansone replied: “What we are hoping for is to send a message to every city government official, that we will not stand for you interfering with our rights as citizens to put forth our cultural festivals and the things that we find important to us, and we’re not going to let you use your personal desire for personal gain get in the way of that.”
Sansone also admitted that there is a financial ask for the civil lawsuit, although that exact figure was not said or presented in the lawsuit.
“The festival was significantly damaged by the actions of Mayor Gainey,” Sansone said. “Some of the sponsors were very reluctant to get involved because of the fear of no police protection or the controversies involving the permits. So we’re hoping to re-establish B.’s reputation amongst all those people and to make the Juneteenth celebration even stronger.”
Sansone added: “At the end of the day, this is not about money. Every civil case involves those kind of claims; this is about doing what’s right and making sure that Pittsburghers understand what’s right, so this doesn’t happen again.”
After the lawsuit was filed, the City of Pittsburgh released a statement firmly denying that B. Marshall’s civil rights had been violated. “All event organizers are held to the same standards, which are established to promote public safety, accountability, and smooth operations,” read the statement, sent to the Courier on Aug. 27. “Mr. Marshall has encountered challenges with the execution of his events due to problems of his own making, not due to bias or unfair treatment. Despite this, the city has made efforts to support and accommodate his events wherever possible. We remain committed to working with all community partners who engage in good faith and adhere to established guidelines that ensure equitable treatment for all.”
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