40th Annual MLK Jr. Commemoration at UB to feature Charles Ogletree

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Internationally renowned legal theorist Charles Ogletree will speak at the University at Buffalo at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11, in Alumni Arena, North Campus, as part of UB’s Distinguished Speakers Series.

He is UB’s 40th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration keynote speaker.

A prominent legal theorist who has earned an international reputation for taking a hard look at complex issues of law and working to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution for everyone equally under the law, Ogletree is Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law.

He is the 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.

Ogletree was named by Ebony Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans in 2006 and 2007, and is co-author of the award-winning book, “Beyond the Rodney King Story: An Investigation of Police Conduct in Minority Communities.” He served as NBC legal commentator on the O.J. Simpson case.

During the program, audio and/or video photography, as well as still photography, will be limited to the first five minutes of his lecture. Ogletree is expected to begin speaking at approximately 8:10 p.m.

Working media may reserve tickets for the program by contacting Christine Vidal in the UB Office of Communications at 645-4607 or vidal@buffalo.edu no later than noon on Thursday, Feb. 11. Reserved tickets may be picked up at the will-call window in Alumni Arena prior to the program. Media may need to show press credentials in order to be admitted to the program.