Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) To Host Convention in Atlanta Later This Month Focusing Unapologetically on Poor People and Poverty

SCLC President Charles Steele, Jr. Says the Organization’s Poor People’s Campaign Is About Eliminating Poverty

SCLC President Charles Steele, Jr. Says the Organization’s Poor People’s Campaign Is About Eliminating Poverty

ATLANTA - In America, the wealthiest nation on earth, it appears very few people are comfortable fighting for poor people and talking about poverty, says Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the organization co-founded and first led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

During the recent presidential debates, featuring high-powered Democratic Party candidates seeking the nomination to become the next chief executive of the United States, this reality became more evident. Instead of talking about poor people and poverty, Dr. Steele says most of the candidates used code words like income inequality, Medicare for all, free college tuition and programs for working families.

Most politicians and people in power, he argues, are reluctant to speak up for the poor even though new reports show that Wall Street is booming, more Americans are employed and the rich are getting richer. Meanwhile, the number of poor Americans is also getting larger. Some 45 million residents of the U.S are classified as poor, but some scholars and experts believe that number can be 16 million higher because the census is not taking into account the impact unexpected job loss, poor health and lack of health insurance are having on working-class families.

But the issues facing poor people and the focus on poverty, Dr. Steele promises, will be front and center during the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s 61st Annual Convention, entitled “Maintaining the Global Village: Housing, Health, and Our Common Humanity.” The event, which galvanizes delegates and supporters from around the country and some foreign lands, will be held from July 18th- July 20th, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, 265 Peachtree St., NE.

“At our conference, we will tackle the issues facing poor people, and we do this every year,” says Dr. Steele, who has led this iconic civil rights organization for more than a decade. “We just don’t wait until conference time to talk about poverty. But, during our conference, we convey this information in a way that the public truly understands the horrific realities of life for more than 40 million people in America. Many people do not know that 42 percent of Americans who have a checking account cannot write a $250 check for an emergency. They do not know that 50 percent of bank account holders cannot write a check for $500.”

The sad reality about poverty in America, Dr. Steele laments, is that little has changed since Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned the Poor People’s Campaign 51 years ago to eradicate poverty. Dr. King, he says, was inspired to launch the campaign after being brought to tears from witnessing first-hand the extreme poverty in the Mississippi Delta and elsewhere. Unfortunately, Dr. King was unable to lead the campaign, because he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, two weeks before it was officially launched. Regrettably, for America, the Mississippi Delta is still the poorest area of America today.

Dr. Steele blames the distressing lack of political and civic leadership for this lack of progress over the years. Many leaders, although forewarned, failed to protect the gains made during the civil rights movement. He points to the decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, including the one issued in June that gives states the right to draw up voting districts; which historically has blocked Blacks and other people of color from voting. That decision reinforces the High Court’s decision several years ago to gut section four and section five of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

“They said we don’t need that protection anymore,” Dr. Steele bemoans. “So, if we are going back to state’s rights, we are going back to the Jim Crow era.” Dr Steele contends. “America needs a leader who will use executive order to reverse the Supreme Court decisions and fight for poor people. Right is right, and it does not matter who is in office,” he passionately says.

During their 61st annual convention, Dr. Steele says the SCLC will announce plans for a new program to provide affordable housing in some notably neglected areas of the U.S.

“We lost 50 percent of the Black wealth in America,” Dr. Steele says. “Black wealth was lost when we lost our homes during the housing crisis more than a decade ago.”

Poor people, and especially people of color, he adds, have also not recovered from their homes being destroyed during Hurricane Michael, which created destruction in Florida and Georgia in October 2018.

“When Hurricane Michael came through, that was one of the worst storms that hit the North American soil,” Dr. Steele recalls. “Nobody is talking about it now. Panama City Beach is almost rebuilt, but homes and properties in the Black community were heavily damaged and nobody is talking about it. We will launch our affordable housing initiative in Panama City, but we will not stop there. We will go throughout the Southeast. Congress voted for a bail out, but that bail out did not help poor people. One thing we must never forget, there is always another storm coming, and we must prepare particularly for poor people, because every time a storm comes, it devastates poor more than any other segment in our society.”

Besides poverty and affordable housing, the SCLC conference will address issues around health and youth. The organization will also salute civil rights legends and individuals who are carving new paths when it comes to fighting for those living in poverty. Those being recognized include the family of the late Rev. Joseph Boone, an Atlanta civil rights leader who died in 2006; The Rev. Fred Taylor, who has been a significant "Foot Soldier" in The Movement for more than 50 years; Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, former president of the SCLC; former Ambassador Andrew Young, who was a top aide to Dr. King, and Xernona Clayton, the founder and CEO of the Trumpet Awards, who also worked closely with Dr. King, and former award-winning Newsweek Magazine journalist and southeast bureau chief, Vernon Smith.

Other highlights of the conference include the training sessions for the organization’s world-renowned Nonviolent Conflict Resolution strategies, which will be led by the SCLC’s Chairman Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., He was a key aide of Dr. King and helped launch the Poor People’s Campaign. The SCLC Convention will also feature an important training session for the Justice for Girls program, which seeks to heighten awareness of human trafficking and empower individuals to eradicate injustices. That program is headed by the SCLC’s First Lady Cathelean Steele. Ms. Steele, the conference’s chair, also oversees the women’s luncheon, where several dynamic women leaders will be honored.

They include Rose Jackson Flenori, a corporate communications executive at Fed Ex; Congresswoman Lucy McBath, who won the heavily Republican 6th Congressional District in Georgia, which was once represented by GOP powerbroker Newt Gingrich. Ms. McBath, a former flight attendant and activist, was inspired to run for office after her 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was killed at a gas station by a man who became irate over loud music coming from Davis’ car. The group will also honor Mary Liuzzo Lilleboe of Rhode Island, who has been immersed in civil rights since her mother, Viola Liuzzo, was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan while participating in a Freedom March demonstration in March 1965.

The health message will be delivered by Charles S. Johnson IV, who will serve as key speaker for the Justice for Girls event. Mr. Johnson runs 4Kira4Moms, which advocates for improved maternal health policies and regulation. Mr. Johnson launched the California-based nonprofit shortly after his wife, Kira, died in April of 2016, a few hours after giving birth to their son.