Harvard Law School's Charles Ogletree, an award-winning author and one of the country's most influential attorneys and legal scholars, will give the keynote address at UC Irvine's 23rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium. The three-day celebration includes a day of community service as well as a march and rally.
Ogletree's talk "Dr. King's Dream: Are We Fulfilling It?" will take place 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, in UCI's Crystal Cove Auditorium.
"We are proud to welcome my friend Professor Charles Ogletree to campus as we celebrate Martin Luther King's messages of equality and freedom and strengthen the bonds of respect that hold us together," said Chancellor Michael V. Drake.
Ogletree is the Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and founding and executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, named in honor of the lawyer who spearheaded the litigation in Brown v. Board of Education. An expert on constitutional law, Ogletree is a prominent legal theorist known for taking a hard look at complex constitutional and criminal justice issues. Recently, he served on the American Bar Association Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine committee, and testified earlier this year before the Senate judiciary committee on the use of presidential signing statements when bills are signed into law - a source of controversy under the current administration. Ogletree also is active in efforts to obtain reparations for descendants of slavery in the U.S., co-chairing the Reparations Coordinating Committee. He is the author or co-author of several books about race issues in recent history, including Brown at 50: The Unfinished Legacy, All Deliberate Speed: Reflections of the First Half-Century of Brown v. Board of Education, and the award-winning Beyond the Rodney King Story: An Investigation of Police Conduct in Minority Communities.
In addition to his legal scholarship, Ogletree has been a public defender and private practice lawyer in Washington, D.C. In his career, he has argued cases before various state supreme courts and circuit courts, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1991, he served as counsel to Anita Hill during the Senate confirmation hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas. In 2000, Ogletree was named one of the most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal, and he has been recognized by Savoy Magazine and Black Enterprise Magazine as among America's top black lawyers.
The lecture is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. To reserve a ticket for a seat, call 949-824-4782 or e-mail sumali@uci.edu.
Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium Schedule
On Monday, Jan. 15, which is a campus holiday, students and community members are encouraged to "make it a day on, not a day off" and volunteer with the Orange County Food Bank 9-11 a.m. For information or to sign up, call the UCI Volunteer Center at 949-824-3500 or visit www.volunteer.uci.edu.
At noon Wednesday, Jan. 17, students will hold a march in honor of King, starting at the Cross-Cultural Center, proceeding around Ring Mall and ending with a rally at the flagpoles in front of the Administration building.
About the UCI Cross-Cultural Center: The UCI Cross-Cultural Center is the oldest center of its kind in the UC system. The center's mission is to provide a network of services that support the personal, social, cultural and academic well-being of UCI's ethnically and culturally diverse students, faculty and staff. The center offers educational programs that advance learning and discovery about the various cultures that compose the UCI community.
About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,800 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.
Television: UCI has a broadcast studio available for live or taped interviews. For more information, visit www.today.uci.edu/broadcast.
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