SCLC leader: Invest in the fight to end racism and discrimination like efforts to protect the abortion pill

Like proponents for the abortion pill who have raised tens of millions of dollars to protect the rights of women, Dr. Charles Steele Jr., the president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, said Saturday that Americans need to make the same financial commitment to end racism and discrimination in the nation.

Speaking before the Alabama Democratic Conference’s Black Political Caucus in this northern Alabama city, Dr. Steele, who heads the organization first led and co-founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said such an effort would eradicate many ills in America, including White on Black and Black on Black crimes. He said the SCLC needs to raise about $50 million for the campaign.

“We have the resources,” said Dr. Steele during this visit on the campus of Alabama A & M University. “And with the resources, we can educate the people through workshops, where experts come to the table, and they convene not only at the White House, but in the outhouses - the underserved enclaves in urban and rural America.”

From the educational workshops, Dr. Steele said Americans will begin the conversations that are needed to heal America. He said so many people are hurting and have been mentally traumatized from America’s past that has lingered from generation to generation. 

“We cannot hide the facts that America is responsible for a lot of atrocities around the world from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to the Holocaust,” Dr. Steele said. “Those atrocities are keeping us in a slave capacity in this country where many Black people are still viewed as second class citizens. Even today in America, we are not recognized as human beings. America must acknowledge this history. America must make an apology and correct this horrible past. This educational campaign will move America to address these transgressions and then you will see the change in our society – a reduction of poverty, crime, violence and hopelessness.”

Dr. Steele said Dr. King was killed because he pressured America to change its views on the Vietnam War and the distribution of wealth in the nation, which contributed to the growing poverty in the nation. Little has changed on the economic front since Dr. King’s assassination in 1968, Dr. Steele said, but Americans must be courageous in demanding change, especially if they want to see the end to the senseless violence that is touching everyone across the nation and the bold actions of politicians who are spewing racial hatred.

“Racism is a disease that spreads like a virus,” Dr. Steele said. ‘It is not just White on Black racism. It is also Black on Black racism. Racism has nothing to do with the pigmentation of the skin. Racism is the action to keep the masses suppressed.”

He said the organization will call upon America’s wealthiest citizens, corporations and foundations to support this initiative.

“Just like we are taking actions to reverse the decisions of judges to block the abortion pill, we need to see this same unity in eradicating racism and discrimination,” he said. “We cannot wait for the government to fix our problems. Politics never freed the people. The people freed politics.”

Eddie C. Sherrod, chairman of the Huntsville and Madison County Alabama Democratic Conference, said the organization invited Dr. Steele because they wanted a national leader who can energize, invigorate, and motivate voters to head to the polls for the 2024 elections. 

“We embrace people who embrace our views and interests,” Sherrod said. “We provide voter education, and we get out the vote. We endorse candidates based on our interviews. All of the candidates in the counties are responsible for informing the people in their counties.”

With the recent violent tragedy in Dadeville, some three hours south of the conference, where four people were killed and more than 32 injured when gunfire erupted at a sweet sixteen celebration, Dr. Steele said he believes those gathered will respond to the call to action. Other communities across the nation that faced tragedy over the past few weeks will also be moved to get to the root of the problems, he said.