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President/CEO, SCLC

There were many trailblazing and monumental achievements made during the turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement. The SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) played a crucial role in the movement. In fact, the organization continues to uplift and empower communities even as it embarks on its 49th Conference commemorating the its 50th anniversary. As president and CEO of the SCLC, Charles Steele Jr. implements business principles and programmatic forecasts to raise money and pull together much needed resources. "It's now time to internationalize and institutionalize the SCLC, and that's what we have done. We've gone worldwide, but our mission is to stay in the streets and to advocate [for] those who are less fortunate than we are," says Steele. With 2007 marking 50 solid years of active involvement for the organization founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Steele wants to make people more aware of the fact that the struggle for equality is far from over. "Many people today think that we got here by osmosis, but we must know our history and understand that it was because of the unity that we came together and basically worked holistically towards a goal. That goal is freedom, justice and equality for all God's children," explains Steele. - jason thompson

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