Attorney Michael A. Hardy rests in power
A long line of Michael Anthony Hardy’s friends and colleagues wrapped around First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem last Thursday. The line replicated the ones that often formed at courthouses where Hardy’s legal genius was on display, and was now one for his memorial services. He died on July 22, twenty days after his 69th birthday. It took an assembly of notables to chart his remarkable passage, but when the Rev. Al Sharpton said “He was my brother,” it drew sustained applause from the crowded church.
“We are honoring a tremendous human being,” said the Rev. Dr. Michael Walrond, Jr. the church’s senior pastor. After a welcoming prayer by Rev. Dr. Lakeesha Walrond, president of the New York Theological Seminary, Byron Neal filled the church with a powerful heartfelt rendition of “What a Wonderful World,” a world many said Attorney Hardy helped to protect and perfect.
His brother-in-law Marc Heyison delivered reflections on Hardy’s life, noting that the lawyer “Never took any prisoners, nor ‘asked why me?’” He was always ready and willing to serve. Chris Murray, Tasha LaTouche Burris, and Tim Nanni recounted his record of service. Jack Giordano recalled visiting his ailing friend in the hospital and being told to hurry on because he had some business to take care of.
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The flow of encomiums was paused and Minister Tyrone Richardson offered a special version of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.” The Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, chairman of the board of the National Action Network (NAN), spoke about Hardy being amongst its founding members. Speaker of the New York City Council, Adrienne Adams, said she had known Hardy for many years and Mayor Eric Adams supplemented her warm regards, noting that he stood on Hardy’s shoulders.
Those shoulders were emphasized by Attorney General Letitia James. Hardy’s niece, Samantha Heyison, recited some of the highlights of his legacy, particularly how his commitment and insight were so instrumental in the successful challenges to the New York Police Department’s stop and frisk policy, which unduly targeted Black and Latino men. She read that her uncle first joined NAN in 1991, after leaving the New Alliance Party. Four years before, as most informed New Yorkers know, Hardy began his long defense of Sharpton in the Tawana Brawley case and later brought justice to Eric Garner, after a police officer killed him in a chokehold.
But it was left to Rev. Sharpton to capture the essence of his relationship with Hardy and for several minutes he enthralled listeners of Hardy’s legal brilliance and tenacity. “He was as selfless a person as anyone I’ve ever met,” the reverend said, making it clear that their legal battles were a shared experience in which they were in mutual accord. “Michael is not dead,” he repeated several times. “When Kamala Harris puts her hand on the bible to be sworn in as the first Black woman president, Michael will be there.”
On the following Saturday at NAN, Heyison said that people will get a chance to offer their memories of Hardy, who is survived by his wife, Dr. Robin Brown Hardy; his sister Gena LaTouche, his nieces Samantha, Lauren, Kristen, Alexandra, Tasha, Suzanne, Ionya, Tanaisha; nephew Jason, and godson, Marcus AI; his mother-in-law Mildred Brown, sister and brother-in-law, Tanya and Marc Heyison. His Band of Brothers includes Tim Nanni, Stephen Hansen, Chris Murray, Wylie Stecklow, and Jack Giordano. Hardy was cremated by the Owens Funeral Home in Harlem.
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