Charles L. Owens (JD ’60) said he had always been fascinated with the law and its ability to change things. It most certainly changed his life. He broke barriers throughout his career, not so much by using the legal system, but by being part of it. He worked as a policeman, detective, attorney and judge. The University of Tulsa Distinguished Alumnus also became part of Oklahoma history when, in 1963, he was named the first African American Assistant Attorney General; then in 1968, he became the first African American to serve as a District Judge, when appointed by Gov. Dewey Bartlett to Oklahoma’s Seventh District.
After completing his studies at Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School in 1948, Judge Owens also became the first person in his family to graduate from college when he earned a business degree from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1952. Before starting his career, he served his country in the U.S. Army for two years, including time in Germany and France. Returning home, he joined the Tulsa Police Department and was soon simultaneously taking a full course load every semester – fall, spring and summer – at TU’s College of Law. He would attend the school’s Evening Division classes, then go on to his 11:00 pm to 7:00 am shift at the police department, starting as a radio patrolman and working his way up to vice squad detective. He recalled that he would come home from work to tell his wife, Edythe, good-bye as she headed to her job as a teacher. He would sleep a few hours and return to the law school library to prepare for his next class. He managed this exhausting pace until he graduated in May 1960, and was admitted to the bar in August.
But this was only the beginning for this outstanding TU law graduate. “I sort of felt that I was destined for something,” he told an interviewer when he was named a TU Distinguished Alumnus. “But I didn’t know what or if. Even though I did have opportunities that my Mom and Dad didn’t have, it was still very segregated in Tulsa. And I somehow wanted to overcome that.” And so he did.
He first took time to learn his new profession, joining the renowned Tulsa attorney and Oklahoma Eagle publisher E.L. Goodwin in a law partnership. Three years later, Oklahoma Attorney General Charles Nesbitt appointed him as an Assistant Attorney General, a post Owens held until 1968, when the next Attorney General, G.T. Blankenship, appointed him Chief of the Criminal Division. In this job, he had the opportunity to do what every attorney dreams of doing – arguing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in March of 1968. In November of that same year, Gov. Dewey Bartlett appointed him District Judge of the Seventh Judicial District to fill the unexpired term of another judge. With this appointment, he became the first African American judge in Oklahoma. When it came time for his re-election bid in 1970, Oklahomans overwhelmingly voted Judge Owens to a full term, and he would be re-elected for the next 24 years. During this time, he was appointed to multiple simultaneous posts, including Special Justice of the Supreme Court. In 2013, Judge Owens was retired, but he again made history when he issued the oath of office to Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Colbert, the first African American to hold that position.
Judge Owens’ accomplishments earned him many honors. Along with being a 2005 TU Distinguished Alumnus, in 2002 the TU College of Law also presented him with its lifetime achievement award. In 1997, he was among the first Booker T. Washington Hall of Fame inductees, and in 1996, he was named to the Black History Hall of Fame. Beyond his professional associations, he was also a devoted father. Inspired by his daughter, Melanie, who was born blind, Mr. Owens served as president of the board for the Oklahoma Foundation for the Disabled. His son, Charles Jr., followed in his father’s footsteps by working in the law enforcement industry.
Shortly after the College of Law honored him, TU alumnus Mike Turpen (BS ’72, JD ‘74) and his wife, Susan, joined a number of other law alumni to create a gift in Mr. Owens’ name: The Charles L. Owens Endowed Scholarship for the College of Law. Recipients are known as Owens Scholars.
Charles Owens passed away in May of 2016, with his wife of 59 years, Edythe, by his side. Like Judge Owens, many TU law students must work while they pursue their degrees. The Charles L. Owens Endowed Scholarship will do much to make this an easier journey for deserving students.
