Representative Moreland earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in International Affairs in 1974 from Antioch University. He earned his Juris Doctor Degree from Antioch School of Law in May, 1979. Honors awarded in Law School include the prestigious Lyndon B. Johnson Congressional Internship. Representative Moreland was admitted to the Bar in June 1980. He was one of the founding members of the Black Entertainment Lawyers Association. He was founder and President of Galaxy Unlimited Records where he recorded Experience Unlimited (EU) and collaborated with Curtis Blow on “The Breaks.”
Charles J. Moreland served as the chief National Lobbyist for the D.C. Voting Rights Amendment and testified before numerous state legislatures to support ratification of the constitutional amendment which would have given D. C. two voting U.S. Senators and one voting U.S. Representative. He was lead lobbyist for the winning group that brought cable television to Washington, D.C.
In 1990 the voters of Washington, D.C. reposed their trust and confidence in Charles J. Moreland to advance the cause of D.C. Statehood and elected him to be D.C.’s First Elected United States Representative. U.S. Senators Jesse L. Jackson and Florence Pendleton were elected at the same time.
Representative Moreland was re-elected to a second term in November 1992, receiving more than 140,000 votes – one of the highest vote-totals in Washington, D.C. history. He chose not to seek re-election in 1994.
Rep. Moreland taught Business Law at Southeastern University in Washington, D.C. Charles J. Moreland is President of the Government Affairs Division at the Pena Law Firm. He is a skilled and experienced government and political affairs counselor who has worked continuously as a professional since 1978. He represents health care providers and a wide variety of business clients at the Federal, State and Municipal level. He is a contract specialist and International Commerce Advisor to clients in Asia, Europe, Africa, and The Americas.Rep. Moreland has received numerous awards, and in May 2019 he received the “Outstanding Statehood Pioneer Award” Presented by “Living with the Law” at the historic Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C.
Representative Moreland is Founder and Publisher of the New Columbia Times Newspaper, and a published Author. He was Marion Barry Jr.’s Chief Advisor and he was founding Chairman of the Marion Barry, Jr. Legacy Foundation, Chairman of the D.C. Statehood Mobilization Action Committee, and Founder/CEO of the Douglass Commonwealth Coalition, Inc. (www.douglasscommonwealth.us). In the winter of 2021 the Honorable Charles J. Moreland served as Facilitator for the Ward 8 Pandemic Emergency Relief Task Force.
In July 2023, U.S. President Joshep R. Biden presented The Hon. Charles J. Moreland with the Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor of community service from the President.