Frederick P. Charleston Sr.

FREDERICK P. CHARLESTON, SR., ESQ. (affectionately known as “Pope”) passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends on September 3, 2022, from complications of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). Fred was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on August 13, 1946 to the late John Burke Charleston, Sr. and the late Ruby Nash Charleston in a loving household with six siblings. As a child and teenager in Indianapolis, he was actively involved in sports, playing football in the Fall, basketball in the Winter, and baseball in the Spring. At Shortridge High School, Fred lettered in two sports (baseball and basketball) and was a member of the school’s marching band and school newspaper. Upon his graduation from Shortridge, Fred attended Southern Colorado State College in Pueblo, Colorado (currently known as Colorado State University Pueblo). He attended Southern Colorado on a basketball and baseball scholarship. After two years at Southern Colorado, Fred transferred to Howard University in Washington, DC. While at Howard, Fred made two commitments that he would carry with him for the rest of his life. The first was his initiation into Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. The second, and most important, was meeting the love of his life, Jeanne Bogle. They began their journey together by getting married and then heading back to Colorado to start a new chapter. Upon his return to Colorado, Fred accepted a scholarship to The University of Colorado Law School in Boulder. While there, Fred began a history of legal activism as vice-chairman and co-founder of the C.U. Chapter of the Black American Law Student Association (BALSA). Fred was also a participant in the Legal Aid and Public Defender Program, a tutor in the Minority Law Program, and minority advisor to the school admissions committee. In his last year at school, he interned at the Boulder Public Defender’s Office. After receiving his law degree, Fred was awarded a grant from the Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellowship Program. Under this program, Fred joined the staff at Denver’s East Side Legal Aid, becoming staff director two years later. During that two-year period, Fred taught paralegal courses at Community College of Denver and became Director of Region VI of the National Conference of Black Lawyers. In the Denver community, he became actively involved with several service groups and began his long-term participation in the prisoners’ rights movement. This movement culminated in Fred travelling to Cuba with a group of Black lawyers to research prison conditions. While in Cuba, the lawyers met with Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Freedom Party and tried to secure his safe passage to America from his long years in exile. While in Denver, Fred and Jeanne welcomed their son, Fred Jr. (affectionately known as “Pelé”) to the world. They later added two more children to their family, daughter Ayana and son Hassan. After a distinguished career in Denver, Fred moved his family to Baltimore, Maryland where he became an attorney for The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After a notable career with the EEOC, Fred joined the Law Offices of William H. “Billy” Murphy, Jr. Later, Fred ran for Circuit Court Judge of Baltimore eventually transitioning into a long and meaningful private practice. Fred was a loyal and dedicated member of the Howard University Alumni Association and a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and was very proud to be a “Nupe.” Always dedicated to his children, Fred was the President of his children’s PTA at Hilton Elementary School and was a coach for both his sons’ little league baseball and pee-wee football teams. Fred adored his children and instilled in them his commitment to education and the understanding to not “forget where you came from. People have suffered to get programs which we have now. Your degree is mortgaged. Black folks own the mortgage and you’ve got to make the payments.” Fred volunteered for numerous organizations and was the president of the Howard University Alumni Club of Baltimore. Fred also received several awards over the years including the Thurgood Marshall Legacy Award from the Talbot County (MD) Branch of the NAACP for his “…unselfish dedication, unyielding fortitude and excellence in the pursuit of equal justice and equality for all citizens.” Fred loved practicing law, watching movies and TV shows, listening to a wide variety of music, watching horse-racing, reading John Grisham novels, playing golf, attending fraternity functions, playing cards, and watching his kids and grandkids in their various shows and athletic performances. He truly loved life and his boisterous and charming personality will be missed by all who knew him. Cherishing his memory are: his wife, Jeanne; his son, Pelé and his wife Ying; his daughter, Ayana and her partner Berkley and their three children Nabilah, Ishaan, and Zahra; his son, Hassan and his wife Denise and their three children Concetta, Haji, and Zoe; his two brothers, John B. Charleston, Jr. and Juan Charleston, Sr.; his sisters, Janice Spearman and Lessie Crawley; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, family, friends, co-workers, and fraternity brothers. He is preceded in death by his mother Ruby Nash Charleston and father John Burke Charleston, Sr., sister Joan Fleming and brother James “Pie” Charleston. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Howard University Alumni Association - https://alum.howard.edu/huaa/howard-university-alumni-association or The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration https://www.theaftd.org/

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Frederick P. Charleston Sr.

August 13, 1946 - September 3, 2022