SCLC President/CEO, Dr. Charles Steele Jr., calls his wife and life-long partner a “game changer” and “primetime role model” as his SCLC First Lady because of her effective establishment and execution of our “Justice For Girl’s” program thrust. “What makes it a priority Black female international concern is that my wife cares about the future and our next generations of young ladies, who will divinely impact young men,” President Steele opines. “Women have been wrongly left out of political and civil rights leadership for far too many years. My First Lady is not only changing that as an educator, but also pioneering a path forward for her mentees. It is her commitment and her calling.” Gail Sutton is a friend and fellow First Lady of Atlanta’s historic Jackson Memorial Church who applauds First Lady Steele. “Justice For Girls is making a difference,” she opines. “First Lady Steele has pulled girls out of their comfort zone. She got the girls together and decided to take them various places, do different things, teach them how to become young ladies. It was just an impressive experience because the girls had not been anywhere. These young ladies that she has under her wing, they weren’t used to going to different places like going to a restaurant or on a hike.” First Lady Sutton adds, “Sex trafficking, is a big problem because it could happen to anybody’s child – anywhere at any time. First Lady Steele gave us information on what to do, how to do it and who to call. She gave us all the different warnings to help our children not be that environment.” “I think it’s also opened the eyes of a lot of parents that I’ve had a chance to speak with,” Ms. Steele says about the programs impact. “I think I’m making a difference because I have traveled throughout a number of Southern states that have SCLC chapters, and I’ve spoken to parents and young girls about Justice For Girls, not that I want them to have a chapter, but if you educate the parents, they will educate their kids. It opens their eyes.” This work has also opened First Lady Steele’s eyes as an educator, while also becoming a significant segment of her legacy. “I love teaching because I keep learning something new all the time,” she says. “I’m sure it’s a part of my legacy. But my larger legacy is not just caring about girls that are sex trafficked but caring about our young people overall. As a teacher, I was just so always concerned about my students. So, I felt the same with Justice For Girls. But overall, I always cared about my students, all of them. And they knew that. And when I see students now, they always tell me, ‘Oh, Mrs. Steele, you were my favorite teacher.’ I bet they tell every teacher that.” No, they do not because First Lady Cathelean Steele has proven to be the quintessential educator.
Maynard Eaton
SCLC National Magazine/ King 2022 Issue
27
