Charles’s early practice took him to the District of Columbia public defender’s office. He would later represent many notable figures but gained national prominence when he represented Anita Hill as she testified in the Senate hearings against the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. He appeared on many television shows such as Nightline, This Week with David Brinkley, the MacNeil/Lehrer Report and many more.
On the Vineyard he hosted a meet and greet for his friend, then-President Barack Obama, under a tent in his backyard during the summer before Obama began his campaign for a second term as president. This gathering of about 75 people was evidence of their close bond.
In 2005, Charles launched the Charles Hamilton Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard University. Ogletree and Harvard were paying homage to the brilliant litigator who crafted the legal strategy to attack discrimination leading to legal victories at the Supreme Court in the Shelley v. Kraemer case (1948) and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case (1954). Under Charles’s leadership, the institute hosted annual public forums at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School every summer. These forums attracted national speakers from the entertainment, academic, cultural and legal sectors of society, packing in attendees for the programs.
Upon hearing that the public forums will be named after her husband, Pam Ogletree said, ”Wow! This is extraordinary! This sounds like a powerful series! I can’t thank all of you enough for all that you have done to make this series a reality and for naming it after Charles. We miss being on the Vineyard but our spirits are soaring, knowing that Charles has not been forgotten.”
Written by Oak Bluffs Town Columnist for The Vineyard Gazette, Richard L. Taylor
Union Chapel Education & Cultural Institute Leadership
Richard L. Taylor
Lawyer and real estate executive Richard L. Taylor was born on April 6, 1949 in Montgomery, Alabama to Evelyn Lewis and Franklyn Taylor, Jr. Taylor graduated from Richmond Hill High School in 1967. Taylor went on to attend Boston University, where he became the first Rhodes Scholar in the history of the university. After receiving his B.A. degree in journalism and public communications in 1971, he earned his second B.A. degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University in 1973. Taylor went on to earn his joint M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School in 1977.
Upon graduating in 1977, Taylor joined Boston Consulting Group as a managing consultant providing strategic planning services to Fortune 500 companies. In 1979, Governor Edward King appointed Taylor to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Board of Directors and the MBTA Retirement Fund Board. The following year, Taylor was hired as the vice president of development for Fidelity Management and Research (FMR) properties, where he secured rights to Commonwealth Pier and the Commonwealth Flats. From 1985 to 1990, Taylor served as chairman of Taylor Properties, where he developed retail establishments at Orange and Red Line MBTA stations. In 1990, Governor William F. Weld appointed Taylor as secretary of transportation and construction, and chairman of the board of the MBTA. While there, Taylor oversaw the Big Dig project, construction of the Leonard P. Zakim Bridge and the Old Colony commuter rail system, and the reconstruction of Dudley Station Bus Terminal. In 1993, Taylor joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) as division vice president of central and western Massachusetts, although he later transitioned to the role of vice president of national accounts. Taylor was named chairman of Taylor Smith Group, LLC in 1999, where he managed the business real estate development and commercial brokerage areas. During his tenure there, the company completed over $300 million worth of project, including the Olympia Tower, Bradford Estates and Douglass Plaza.
In 1990, Taylor was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in engineering technology by the Wentworth Institute of Technology; and in 1992, he received an honorary doctorate degree in public service from Bridgewater State College. Taylor was the founding president of the Minority Developers Association, and has served on the board of higher education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Boston NAACP, and on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He also served as president of the Boston Ballet and chairman of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.
Karen Holmes Ward
Karen Holmes Ward is the Director of Public Affairs and Community Services as well as host and executive producer of CityLine, WCVB’s award-winning weekly magazine program which addresses the accomplishments, concerns and issues facing people of color living in Boston and its suburbs. CityLine has been a recipient of the Associated Press Massachusetts/Rhode Island ‘Best’ Public Affairs Program and numerous Emmy nominations.
Karen also oversees WCVB’s public service and community outreach efforts including the station’s work on Five Fixer Upper, renewing and refurbishing common spaces for area nonprofits and Extreme Makeover: My Hometown, raising awareness about the need for affordable housing in the Greater Boston area. She was instrumental to launching Commonwealth 5, WCVB’s first-of-its-kind web-based initiative that promoted philanthropy by matching viewer-donors with non-profits via the Internet. The program’s success was recognized with a National Emmy Award nomination.
A graduate of Boston University’s School of Public Communications (now COM), Karen has received honorary doctorates in humane letters and communications from Boston University, Cambridge College and Merrimack College. She was inducted into the 2018 Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed upon individuals for their outstanding achievements and unparalleled contributions to the broadcasting industry in Massachusetts.
Karen has been a mentor to dozens of nonprofit groups over the years, serving on boards and assisting them in learning how to use the power of television to advance their causes.