LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. upon the occa-
sion of his designation for special recognition by the Bedford Stuyves-
ant Restoration Corporation

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the people of the State of New York to
recognize and acknowledge those within our midst who have made signif-
icant contributions to the quality of life therein; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Charles J.
Ogletree, Jr. upon the occasion of his designation for special recogni-
tion by the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation at its Annual
Benefit on Thursday, June 18, 2009, in Brooklyn, New York; and
WHEREAS, Charles Ogletree, the Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko
Professor of Law, and Founding and Executive Director of the Charles
Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, is a prominent legal
theorist who has made an international reputation by taking a hard look
at complex issues of law and by working to secure the rights guaranteed
by the Constitution for everyone equally under the law; he has examined
these issues not only in the classroom, on the Internet, and in the
pages of prestigious law journals, but also in the everyday world of the
public defender in the courtroom and in public television forums where
these issues can be dramatically revealed; he furthers dialogue by
insisting that the justice system protect rights guaranteed to those
citizens by law; and
WHEREAS, Professor Ogletree is the Founding and Executive Director of
Harvard Law School's new Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race &
Justice, named in honor of the visionary lawyer who spearheaded the
litigation in Brown v. Board of Education; the Institute opened in
September 2005, and focuses on a variety of issues relating to race and
justice, and will sponsor research, hold conferences, and provide policy
analysis; and
WHEREAS, Professor Ogletree's most recent book, co-edited with Profes-
sor Austin Sarat of Amherst College is FROM LYNCH MOBS TO THE KILLING
STATE: RACE AND THE DEATH PENALTY IN AMERICA, and was published by New
York University Press in May 2006; BROWN AT 50: THE UNFINISHED LEGACY,
co-authored with Professor Deborah Rhode of Stanford University, commem-
orates the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, and was
published by the American Bar Association in August of 2004; and
WHEREAS, Professor Ogletree has served as Faculty Director, Associate
Dean and Vice Dean of the Harvard Law School Clinical Program, which was
founded in the 1970s by the late Professor Gary Bellow; he holds honor-
ary doctorates of law from North Carolina Central University, New
England School of Law, Tougaloo College, Amherst College, Wilberforce
University, and the University of Miami School of Law; and
WHEREAS, Professor Ogletree is a native of Merced, California, where
he attended public schools; he earned an M.A. and B.A. (with
distinction) in Political Science from Stanford University, where he was
Phi Beta Kappa; he also holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School where he
served as Special Projects Editor of the HARVARD CIVIL RIGHTS - CIVIL
LIBERTIES LAW REVIEW; and
WHEREAS, Professor Ogletree was named by EBONY MAGAZINE as one of the
100+ Most Influential Black Americans; he was presented with the Life-
time Achievement Award when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for
the National Black Law Students Association, where he served as National
President from 1977-1978; Professor Ogletree also received the first
ever Rosa Parks Civil Rights Award given by the City of Boston, the Hugo
A. Bedau Award given by the Massachusetts Anti-Death Penalty Coalition,
and Morehouse College's Gandhi, King, Ikeda Community Builders Prize;

the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund honored Professor
Ogletree with the Justice in Action Award, and the Massachusetts Women's
Political Caucus presented him with their "Good Guys" Award; and
WHEREAS, Professor Ogletree's commentaries on a broad range of timely
and important issues have appeared in the editorial pages of the NEW
YORK TIMES, the LOS ANGELES TIMES, and the BOSTON GLOBE, among other
national newspapers; his commentary on how to make Black America better
was published in the 2001 compilation, LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING; and
WHEREAS, Professor Ogletree has also contributed a chapter entitled
"The Rehnquist Revolution in Criminal Procedure", which appears in THE
REHNQUIST COURT: JUDICIAL ACTIVISM ON THE RIGHT, published in 2002; he
also serves as the Co-Chair of the Reparations Coordinating Committee, a
group of lawyers and other experts researching a lawsuit based upon a
claim of reparations for descendants of African slaves, along with
Randall Robinson, author of THE DEBT: WHAT AMERICA OWES TO BLACKS; and
WHEREAS, In 2005, Professor Ogletree was honored with the Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award for National Service, and presented with
the Morehouse College Candle in the Dark Award in Education and Law; he
also received the City University of New York Public Interest Law Asso-
ciation Lifetime Achievement Award in Public Interest Law; in 2004, the
Clio Exchange presented Professor Ogletree with the Carter G. Woodson
History Maker Living Legend Award, and he also received the A. Leon
Higginbotham Lawyer of the Year Award from the National Bar Association
Young Lawyers Division; and
WHEREAS, In 2003, Professor Ogletree was selected by SAVOY MAGAZINE as
one of the 100 Most Influential Blacks in America and by BLACK ENTER-
PRISE MAGAZINE, along with Thurgood Marshall, A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.,
and Constance Baker Motley, as one of the legal legends among America's
top black lawyers; in 2002, he received the National Bar Association's
prestigious Equal Justice Award; and
WHEREAS, With him throughout have been his wife, Pamela, their two
children, Charles III, and Rashida, all of whom feel privileged to be a
part of his life and rejoice in his achievements; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our atten-
tion, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of
the great State of New York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. upon the occasion of his designation for
special recognition by the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Charles J. Ogletree, Jr.