steele sclc so christian ldrshp conf

<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
<b>oops see 2x other node</b>

fluff 2/14
</font><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
Trice Edney Wire) – It’s Round Two for

Charles Steele, Jr.  At the urging of its Chairman Dr. Bernard

LaFayette, the Southern Christian Leadership Board has voted to

reappoint Steele as president, says an SCLC news release this week.

</font><p style="text-align: justify;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The savvy Alabama businessman and

politician built SCLC’s national headquarters building during his stint

as presidency from 2004 to 2009. This gift of development is sorely

needed again at this point of the organization’s history, LaFayette

says. “Dr. Steele has returned as President because of a very important

need at this point which is fundraising and fund development.  That’s a

primary responsibility of the President, and he has excellent skills and

contacts in that arena to help us maintain our financial stability.”</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p style="text-align: justify;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Dr. C.T. Vivian, who has served as

interim president and recently received the Presidential Medal of

Freedom, will now be a roving ambassador and vice president of SCLC.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p style="text-align: justify;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“When Dr. Vivian became President we

needed that kind of historical leadership and the respect that he

commands, but also the integrity that he represents as a proponent of

nonviolence,” adds LaFayette.  “We applaud his stellar service.”</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p style="text-align: justify;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">President Steele says he will return with his penchant for international travel and passion for the poor.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p style="text-align: justify;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“SCLC is more than marching and giving

great speeches,” he says in a news release. “It’s a collaborative effort

with the programmatic intent to take care of those less fortunate than

we are.  Our mission from the start was to make sure that poor people

and ‘po folks’ were being recognized.”</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p style="text-align: justify;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">After trips to Germany, Russia and other

foreign countries, Steele says he sees SCLC growth as a international

symbol of justice and opportunity.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p style="text-align: justify;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“SCLC is more prevalent now than ever

before around the world,” he says. “People of color in America feel that

we have maxed out, but when I went to Moscow and spoke to the former

president Mikhail  Gorbachev , the first question he asked me was,

‘Steele have we fulfilled The Dream’?   I very swiftly responded, ‘Mr.

President, no.  We are just getting started.’  That’s when we were able

to talk with Gorbachev for three hours about our goals.  We agreed that

we were going to work together on human rights, civil rights, the

environment and economic development.”</font></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=
</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
https://web.archive.org/web/20120114112026/http://www.charlessteeleandassociates.com/

pix w. BO BC
 1530 east cleaveland ave blbg 100B suite 201 atlanta

CSA Logo
“Charles Steele and Associates is leading
the way through relationships with people,
the community and the nation.”
Dr. Charles Steele Jr.

CSA specializes in bringing people together for one common purpose and one common goal. CSA is always making a difference in the lives of people across the world.
CSA welcomes
BRJ & Associates
to our team.
CSA has contracted to head up the Bridge Crossing Jubilee.
CSA partners with <b>Forgive us our Debt</b>.
==
https://www.facingsouth.org<b>/2010/09</b>/special-report-industry-wraps-<b>coal-ash</b>-regulation-fight-in-the-mantle-of-civil-rights.html

sue s
</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Standing out among the more than 250 people who testified at the recent<b> <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/09/hundreds-speak-out-at-epas-coal-ash-hearing-in-north-carolina.html">Environmental Protection Agency hearing</a>

on proposed coal ash regulations </b>in Charlotte, N.C. was one speaker

with an especially distinguished background:<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> </span><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Charles Steele Jr.</span> ,

the first African-American member of the Tuscaloosa City Council and a

former Democratic state senator from Alabama who went on to lead the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the legendary civil rights

organization whose first president was Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Steele left SCLC last year and now runs a <a href="http://www.charlessteeleandassociates.com/">consulting firm</a> [404 wayback] in Atlanta. [CSA unfortunate acronym]
</b>

Given Steele's work on behalf of civil rights, one might have expected

him to support better regulation of coal ash -- perhaps talking about

the fact that many of the U.S. communities at greatest risk from the

most potentially hazardous impoundments have <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-nilles/poverty-near-the-high-haz_b_225013.html">higher-than-average poverty rates</a>. Or about the finding that environmental contamination from coal ash dumps is <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/05/power-politics.html">concentrated in high-poverty communities</a>. Or about the<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2009/05/tva-sends-spilled-coal-ash-to-impoverished-black-communities-in-georgia-and-alabama.html">controversial decision</a> to dump the toxic coal ash waste from the <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/05/disaster-in-east-tennessee.html">Tennessee Valley Authority's 2008 Kingston disaster</a>

in Tennessee in an impoverished, majority-black farming community in

Alabama, in a landfill where runoff now contains levels of

cancer-causing arsenic at more than <a href="http://creekkeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/arrowhead-landfill-complaint-021610.html">80 times the safe drinking water standard</a>.</span>

</font>

<font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Instead, Steele was at the Sept. 14 hearing to argue <i>against</i> coal ash regulation, claiming that the costs would disproportionately burden the most economically vulnerable Americans.</b>

"What I'm concerned about is the fact that we're not talking about poor

people, about affordability," said<b> Steele, a doctor of divinity whose

impassioned preaching livened up the proceedings. "We all believe in

clean air and a clean environment, but somebody must pay for this. It

will be put on minorities and poor people."</b>

In an <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2010/09/15/new-epa-regulations-will-hurt-families/">opinion piece</a>

about his <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">EPA testimony [nb not congress] p</span>ublished the following day at a conservative

website,[d caller "contributor" http://dailycaller.com/2010/09/15/new-epa-regulations-will-hurt-families/</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
had the privilege of testifying yesterday here in Charlotte, North

Carolina, at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) public hearing

on their proposed coal ash regulations.

</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">I wasn’t surprised to see hundreds of activists and ordinary citizens

on both sides of the issue attend and voice their support or concerns

to the EPA. The EPA’s planned regulations of coal ash, greenhouse gases,

and other substances—set to begin in January—will impact all sectors of

the economy and, in turn, all income levels.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In my testimony, I explained how the EPA’s planned regulations on

coal fly ash will raise energy costs, especially for the Southeast and

minority families, and deter the use of some sources of renewable energy

in many parts of the country.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">I urge the EPA to reconsider their costly plans.]
</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Steele lumped the proposed coal ash rules together with other

energy proposals and claimed that they would "increase the poverty rate

by 20 percent for African-American families and 22 percent for Hispanic

families, while decreasing median minority household incomes by as much

as $660 per year." He also said that the coal ash regulations would have

a disproportionate impact on the Southeast.

But coal ash experts take issue with Steele's claims.

"This is a completely disingenuous argument," said Lisa Evans, a former

EPA official who's now an attorney with the environmental advocacy

group Earthjustice.

Evans points out that the coal ash rule-making process required the EPA to conduct a <a href="http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=0900006480ae5d01">regulatory impact analysis</a> considering the economic effects of tougher oversight -- including how much the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/ccr-table.htm">different versions of the proposed rules</a>

would increase consumers' electricity costs. The EPA found that there

wasn't much difference in cost to consumers between the stricter

approach, where coal ash would be treated like a special hazardous waste

with federal enforcement, and the approach favored by industry, where

coal ash would not be classified as hazardous and enforcement of federal

disposal guidelines left up to states and citizen lawsuits.

The government analysis also found that there wasn't much of an

increase in power costs even with the more protective regulation, which

would result in an average increase in electricity bills nationwide of

less than 1 percent, or 0.795 percent to be exact. That would raise the

average monthly home power bill for U.S. residents -- currently about

$99.70, <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/images/sitepieces/average_monthly_power_bill_2007.pdf">according to recent Census data</a> [pdf] -- by about 79 cents.

And despite Steele's claims that the South would be hit especially

hard, a Facing South analysis found that the increase in average power

bills in Southern states* would be only negligibly higher, at just 0.8

percent. In Steele's current state of Georgia, for example, the expected

1.16 percent cost increase would raise the average monthly home power

bill of $106.48 by $1.24. In Steele's former home state of Alabama, the

estimated 1.43 percent price hike would increase the average monthly

residential bill of $121.70 by $1.74. Even in Kentucky, where the

estimated increase would be the greatest of any Southern state at 2.3

percent, the average monthly residential bill of $89.35 would increase

by just $2.06.

Those are price increases, yes -- but hardly the kind that would drive

families into poverty. In turn, the modest additional cost would help

build a regulatory system that would better protect people living near

the nation's 584 coal ash impoundments from catastrophic failures. The

new rules would also help protect nearby residents from health threats,

as a recent <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/images/sitepieces/EPA-HQ-RA%202009.pdf">EPA risk assessment</a>

[pdf] found that people living near unlined coal ash impoundments and

drinking from wells have as much as a 1 in 50 chance of getting cancer

due to arsenic contamination.

So why would Steele make such exaggerated claims about the cost of coal ash regulation?

 </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Industry connections</b>

<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Steele was at the EPA coal ash hearing representing Working People for

Fair Energy (WPFE)</span>, one of the numerous 501(c)(4) "social welfare"

lobbying groups that have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/us/politics/21money.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=all">sprung up in advance of this fall's elections</a> -- and that are not required by law to disclose where their money comes from. The <a href="http://www.joinwpfe.org/">website</a> for the Atlanta-based group, which <a href="http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?1572712">Steele incorporated last June</a>, says its purpose is "protecting working families from national energy laws that create higher energy prices."

But a Facing South Investigation has found that WPFE has close ties to

industry interests with a financial stake in fighting coal ash

regulation:

* The scant information WPFE offers about itself on its website is that

it's part of the Partnership for Affordable Clean Energy (PACE),

another 501(c)(4) that's based in Montgomery, Ala. PACE was incorporated

in February 2009 by William D. Lineberry, an <a href="http://www.balch.com/wlineberry/">attorney with the Birmingham, Ala. office of Balch & Bingham</a> -- a firm that <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?id=D000021862&year=2010">lobbies on behalf of the Southern Company</a> and its Alabama Power subsidiary. Lineberry also <a href="http://www.balch.com/wlineberry/">serves on the tax committees</a> of the Business Council of Alabama as well as Manufacture Alabama -- both of which are <a href="http://energyfairness.org/aboutus.html">partners in PACE</a>.

PACE's other members include the Chamber of Commerce Association of

Alabama, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the IBEW

System Council U-19, which <a href="http://www.ibew.org/articles/06daily/0602/060213_churchfires.htm">represents 3,000 Alabama Power employees</a> and is one of the largest member unions of the state AFL-CIO, another PACE partner.

* The research cited by Steele in <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2010/09/15/new-epa-regulations-will-hurt-families/">his account of his EPA testimony</a>

came from a group called the Affordable Power Alliance led by

conservative African-American Christian minister Harry R. Jackson Jr.

APA in turn is affiliated with the Congress of Racial Equality, founded

in the 1940s as a civil rights organization but which in more recent

years has <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/11/tea-partiers-next-target-climate-bill">supported anti-environmental initiatives</a>

such as expanded oil drilling while accepting money from Exxon Mobil

and other corporations. "Coal and natural gas are the new civil rights

battleground," CORE Chairman Roy Innis <a href="http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech-mainmenu-30/environment/919">has said</a>, "because without these sources, 'we' cannot enjoy this great society."

* When WPFE held a <a href="http://www.joinwpfe.org/Events.html#RecentNews">town hall meeting</a>

last year in Tuskegee, Ala. to discuss energy policy, joining Steele on

the panel was Stephen A. Jones -- director of corporate relations for

Alabama Power.

In an interview with Facing South, Steele said he didn't see a problem

with WPFE's and PACE's relationship with industries that have a

financial stake in fighting coal ash regulation.

"Our issues are the same," he said.

Steele's perspective is shaped by the close personal ties to energy

interests forged during his decade in the Alabama senate, where he

chaired the Industrial Recruitment Committee. Alabama Power -- a <a href="http://www.followthemoney.org/database/search.phtml?searchbox=alabama+power&Type[]=Contributors&States[]=AL&Years[]=2010&Years[]=2009&Years[]=2008&Years[]=2007&Years[]=2006&Years[]=2005&Years[]=2004&Years[]=2003&Years[]=2002&Years[]=2001&Years[]=2000&Years[]=1999&Years[]=1998&Years[]=1997&Years[]=1996&Years[]=1995&Years[]=1994&Years[]=1993&Years[]=1992&Years[]=1991&Years[]=1990&Years[]=1989">major player in state politics</a> -- was one of the biggest <a href="http://www.followthemoney.org/database/uniquecandidate.phtml?uc=19565">contributors to his campaigns</a>.

<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">When Steele left the state senate in 2004 to head SCLC, he was taking the helm of an organization in <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43758-2004Nov11.html">deep trouble financially and otherwise</a>.

But Steele's connections helped turn around the SCLC's money woes. He

built a new $3 million headquarters for the organization with a capital

campaign headed by Mike Garrett, president and CEO of Georgia Power,

"whom Steele got to know during his days in the Alabama legislature,"</span> as

Ebony magazine <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_6_62/ai_n27180175/">reported</a>.

Some of the deals Steele made between SCLC and business interests

proved controversial. In 2008, for example, an op-ed bearing Steele's

byline appeared in a number of Southern U.S. newspapers criticizing

federal legislation to reduce credit card fees by arguing that it would

boost the profits of major retailers including Wal-Mart. But it turned

out Steele didn't write the editorial and was angry the P.R. firm that

did put his name on it because, as the Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802260.html">reported</a>,

Wal-Mart "is listed on the SCLC's Web site as a sponsor of the

organization. No one at the SCLC would want to insult a large

benefactor."

That same year, Steele had an op-ed published in the Washington Post

that noted the devastating effect the subprime mortgage crisis was

having on minority homeowners. But rather than supporting proposals to

better regulate credit markets, Steele attacked them -- while defending

companies that issued high-interest credit cards to people with bad

credit. As Mother Jones <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/08/civil-rights-groups-defending-predatory-lenders-priceless">observed</a>

at the time, that's not altogether surprising when you consider that a

year earlier "<b>the SCLC formed a partnership with CompuCredit, a subprime

credit card issuer and payday lending company."</b>

The Federal Trade Commission eventually sued CompuCredit for unfair and

deceptive trade practices and for violating the Fair Debt Collection

Practices Act, charging that it cheated consumers out of more than $200

million through a scheme in which they paid so much in fees that they

had little credit available.

But Steele defended the company even then, saying that it "has been a true friend to the SCLC."</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>The fight for the status quo</b>

The utility industry could certainly use a staunch defender like Steele

right now, as it has a great deal at stake in the battle over coal ash

regulation.

That's especially true for the Southern Company. Generating almost 70

percent of its power by burning coal, the company produces an enormous

amount of coal ash -- 12.4 billion pounds in 2008 alone, according to a

recent <a href="http://southerncompany.com/planetpower/pdfs/ccbrp.pdf">corporate report</a>

[pdf]. It operates 11 power plants with coal ash surface impoundments

in Georgia, six in Alabama, three in Florida and two in Mississippi,

which means that complying with proposed federal requirements to ensure

they are not leaking contamination to groundwater would be a major

undertaking.

Southern Company has had serious problems with its coal ash

impoundments in the past. In 2002, years before TVA's Kingston

catastrophe brought coal ash to the public's attention, a <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/05/coals-dirty-secret.html">sinkhole opened up in an impoundment at Georgia Power's Plant Bowen</a>

in Bartow County, Ga., eventually covering four acres and reaching 30

feet in depth. The structure's failure released 2.25 million gallons of a

water and coal-ash mix to a tributary of the Euharlee Creek that feeds

the Etowah River, which in turn provides drinking water to downstream

communities.

The incident at Plant Bowen was listed in a <a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/assets/pdf/CoalAsh-Doc1.pdf">2007 EPA report</a> [pdf] documenting U.S. coal ash damage cases, 137 of which have been <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/images/sitepieces/coal_ash_damage_cases_8-2010.pdf">discovered to date</a>

[pdf]. Also listed in the EPA report as a potential damage case was the

Lansing Smith Plant near Panama City, Fla., owned by Southern Company

subsidiary Gulf Power. Data collected at that site "indicates that there

were documented exceedances of primary drinking water standards for

cadmium, chromium and fluoride and secondary drinking water standards

for sulfate, chloride, manganese and iron in on-site groundwater"

attributable to coal ash, according to the EPA.

The full extent of environmental damages caused by Southern Company's

coal ash impoundments is not known. In the absence of federal

regulations, coal ash oversight is left up to state authorities. But

many coal ash-generating states -- including Alabama, Georgia and

Mississippi, all in the Southern Company's service area -- currently

require no groundwater monitoring of operating coal ash ponds. In fact,

states that do not require monitoring at coal ash ponds account for

about 70 percent of the coal ash waste generated nationwide in 2008, as

noted in a recent <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/08_26_10.php">report</a> by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Earthjustice and Sierra Club.

"Contamination of the environment and water supplies with toxic levels

of arsenic, lead and other chemicals is a pervasive reality at America's

coal ash disposal sites because states are not preventing it," said

Jeff Stant, director of EIP's Coal Combustion Waste Initiative. "The

case for a national regulation setting common sense safeguards for

states to meet, such as liners, monitoring and cleanup standards, could

not be more persuasive."

But with the help of Steele and other industry advocates, the Southern

Company is fighting to maintain the regulatory status quo. David

Ratcliffe, the company's chairman, president and CEO, met with EPA

Administrator Lisa Jackson last July as part of a group of utility

executives asking her not to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste. He

followed up with a <a href="http://www.uswag.org/pdf/2009/ratcliffe.pdf">letter to Jackson</a>

[pdf] in which he reiterated his case, citing the company's financial

concerns. In addition, the Southern Company's shareholders recently <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/09/souths-institutional-investors-silent-on-coal-ash-risks.html">rejected a resolution</a> seeking better disclosure on the financial risks associated with its coal ash ponds.

Meanwhile, Alabama Power and Georgia Power are still withholding

details from the public about the structural stability of their coal ash

impoundments, claiming that the data represents confidential business

information. North Carolina-based Duke Energy and First Energy of Ohio

had made similar claims that were denied by the EPA, but the agency is

still in the process of making a final determination on the Southern

Company's claims. The EPA <a href="http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys2/index.htm">acknowledges</a> that the utility "is taking a legally allowable position" -- but notes that it's alone among U.S. power companies.

Yet that's whose interests Steele is defending under the guise of

economic and racial justice. Furthermore, he likens what will happen

should EPA regulate coal ash as hazardous waste to a "revolution."

"You better get ready," Steele told Facing South. "This is like the

civil rights movement -- we're going to have to take it to the streets."

(<i>For more information about the proposed EPA coal ash regulations, click <a href="http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/index.htm">here</a>. The agency is accepting public comments through Nov. 19.)</i>

<i>*

Facing South counts the following states as part of the South: Alabama,

Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North

Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.</i></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">==
ggl 7/16

</font><div id="rcnt" style="clear:both;position:relative;zoom:1"><div class="col" style="width:0"><div style="visibility: visible;" id="center_col"><div class="med" id="res" role="main"><div data-jibp="h" data-jiis="uc" id="search"><div data-ved="0ahUKEwjt99zt6ObNAhUW0GMKHVUlBewQGggb"><h2 class="hd"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Search Results</font></h2><div data-async-context="query:%22increase%20the%20poverty%20rate%20by%2020%20percent%20for%20African-American%20families%20and%2022%20percent%20for%20Hispanic%20families%2C%20while%20decreasing%20median%20minority%20household%20incomes%20by%20as%20much%20as%20%24660%20per%20year.%22" id="ires"><div id="rso"><div class="srg"><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="29"><h3 class="r"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://grist.org/article/industry-wraps-coal-ash-regulation-fight-in-the-mantle-of-civil-rights/">Industry wraps coal ash regulation fight in the mantle of civil rights | Grist</a></font></h3><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><cite class="Rm">grist.org/.../industry-wraps-coal-ash-regulation-fight-in-the-mantle-of-civil-rights...</cite></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="29"><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><div class="crc"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:0;ri:;site:grist.org" data-async-trigger="cra-0-filled" data-ved="0ahUKEwjt99zt6ObNAhUW0GMKHVUlBewQ5CsIIjAA"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Grist<span class="Bs" /></font></div></div></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="st"><span class="f">Oct 1, 2010 - </span>Some

opponents of stronger coal ash regulation are trying to make their case

in the language of civil rights. But their argument doesn't fly.</span></font></div></div></div></div><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="36"><h3 class="r"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://dailycaller.com/2010/09/15/new-epa-regulations-will-hurt-families/">New EPA regulations will hurt families | The Daily Caller</a></font></h3><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><cite class="Rm">dailycaller.com/2010/09/15/new-epa-regulations-will-hurt-families/</cite></font></div></div></div></div></div><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="36"><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><div class="crc"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:1;ri:;site:dailycaller.com" data-async-trigger="cra-1-filled" data-ved="0ahUKEwjt99zt6ObNAhUW0GMKHVUlBewQ5CsIKTAB"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The <b>Daily Caller</b><span class="Bs" /></font></div></div></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="st"><span class="f">Sep 15, 2010 - </span>The EPA's new coal and biomass regulations will raise costs for families, especially for those living in the South and Midwest.</span></font></div></div></div></div><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="43"><h3 class="r"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2639007/posts"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Obama's coming death blow for the economy</span> - Free Republic</a></font></h3><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><cite class="Rm">www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2639007/posts</cite></font></div></div></div></div></div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><div class="crc"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:2;ri:;site:freerepublic.com" data-async-trigger="cra-2-filled" data-ved="0ahUKEwjt99zt6ObNAhUW0GMKHVUlBewQ5CsIMDAC"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Free Republic<span class="Bs" /></font></div></div></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="st"><span class="f">Dec 7, 2010 - </span>Lisa

Jackson, the EPA administrator, signed a so-called endangerment

finding, stating that carbon dioxide and five other products of fossil

fuel ...</span>
==
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</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Charles Steele, Jr.</b> (born August 3, 1946 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscaloosa,_Alabama" title="Tuscaloosa, Alabama">Tuscaloosa, Alabama</a>) is an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">American</a>

businessman, politician and civil rights leader. He was the first

African American elected to the City Council of Tuscaloosa and one of

the first African Americans elected to the Alabama State Senate. From

2004 to 2009, he was the National President and CEO of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Christian_Leadership_Conference" title="Southern Christian Leadership Conference">Southern Christian Leadership Conference</a>, co-founded by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,Jr." title="Martin Luther King, Jr.">Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr</a>. Dr. Steele is the founder and President of Charles Steele and Associates (CSA) located in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta" title="Atlanta">Atlanta</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia%28U.S._state%29" title="Georgia (U.S. state)">Georgia</a>.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

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<h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Contents</font></h2>

</div></div><div id="toc" class="toc"><ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Steele,Jr.#Education"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Education</span></a></font></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Steele,Jr.#Political_career"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Political career</span></a></font></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Steele,Jr.#References"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></font></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Steele,Jr.#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></font></li></ul>

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</font><h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="mw-headline" id="Education">Education</span></font></h2><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Steele graduated high school from Druid City High School in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscaloosa,_Alabama" title="Tuscaloosa, Alabama">Tuscaloosa, Alabama</a> and attended college at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Valley_State_University" title="Mississippi Valley State University">Mississippi Valley State University</a>

and Oakland University. He received his bachelor's degree from American

International University at the Paramaribo Suriname, South America

campus. He received an earned Doctorate degree from Mt. Carmel

Theological Seminary. He also holds an Honorary Doctor of Human Letters

Degree from the prestigious <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillman_College" title="Stillman College">Stillman College</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscaloosa,_Alabama" title="Tuscaloosa, Alabama">Tuscaloosa, Alabama</a>,

an Honorary Doctorate of Christian Education from The F.T. Bozeman

school of Ministry and Global Evangelical Christian College of

Louisiana.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="mw-headline" id="Political_career">Political career</span></font></h2><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In

1985 he was elected to the Tuscaloosa City Council where he served two

terms. During his tenure as City Councilman, he organized the Unity Day

Scholarship Fund, the Tuscaloosa police Athletic League, and secured

funds for purchase of Palmore Park and Barrs’ Quarters (Charles Steele

Estates). This was the first home ownership program in West Alabama.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2009)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup>

He obtained the funds to build the Bernice Washington Insight Center, a

drug treatment center. He organized the Tuscaloosa Drug Task Force and

after many years of relenting efforts, the Partners for a Drug free

Tuscaloosa County (formerly Tuscaloosa Drug Task Force). During that

time the partnership was awarded one million dollars.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1994, he was elected to the Alabama state senate, and re-elected three times before resigning to become president of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Christian_Leadership_Conference" title="Southern Christian Leadership Conference">SCLC</a> in November 2004.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Steele,_Jr.#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup>

In April 2006, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board

of Preachers of Morehouse College. On April 20, 2006 he was inducted

into the Tuscaloosa Civic Hall of Fame.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Steele,_Jr.#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span></font></h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">

</font><ol class="references"><li id="cite_note-1"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></li></ol><div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content"><li id="cite_note-1"> <font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://awaservice.com/dream/chair.html">Honorary Chairs Living the Dream: Charles Steele bio</a></span></font></li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></li><div class="reflist" style="list-style-type: decimal;"><ol class="references"><li value="2" id="cite_note-2"> <font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.tuscaloosachamber.com/tuscaloosa/civic_hall_of_fame_06.php">Tuscaloosa Civic Hall of Fame 2006</a></span></font></li></ol>

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<h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span></font></h2><div id="mw-content-text" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" lang="en"><ul><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://sclcnational.org/net/content/item.aspx?s=18275.0.12.2607">Southern Christian Leadership Conference</a></font></li></ul>

<div style="font-size:114%"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President" title="President">Presidents</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Christian_Leadership_Conference" title="Southern Christian Leadership Conference">Southern Christian Leadership Conference</a></font></div>

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</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0px">

<ul><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,Jr." title="Martin Luther King, Jr.">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a> (1957-68)</font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Abernathy" title="Ralph Abernathy">Ralph Abernathy</a> (1968-77)</font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lowery" title="Joseph Lowery">Joseph Lowery</a> (1977-97)</font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_III" title="Martin Luther King III">Martin Luther King III</a> (1997-2004)</font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Shuttlesworth" title="Fred Shuttlesworth">Fred Shuttlesworth</a> (2004)</font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong class="selflink">Charles Steele, Jr.</strong> (2004-09)</font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_W.Creecy,_Jr." class="mw-redirect" title="Howard W. Creecy, Jr.">Howard W. Creecy, Jr.</a> (2009-11)</font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><strong class="selflink">Charles Steele, Jr.</strong> (2012-present)</span></font></li></ul>

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    <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: </font><ul><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:African-American_politicians" title="Category:African-American politicians">African-American politicians</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Activists_for_African-American_civil_rights" title="Category:Activists for African-American civil rights">Activists for African-American civil rights</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Alabama_city_council_members" title="Category:Alabama city council members">Alabama city council members</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_chief_executives" title="Category:American chief executives">American chief executives</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1946_births" title="Category:1946 births">1946 births</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Living_people" title="Category:Living people">Living people</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mississippi_Valley_State_University_alumni" title="Category:Mississippi Valley State University alumni">Mississippi Valley State University alumni</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Oakland_University_alumni" title="Category:Oakland University alumni">Oakland University alumni</a></font></li></ul><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">====</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">sclc bs bio</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><br />note no eco isues on www main<br /></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">resident/CEO- Charles Steele, Jr.<br /><br />Charles Steele, Jr. was born on August 3, 1946, in Tuscaloosa , Alabama. He is CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Mr. Steele is a civil rights leaders first, using his constituency as a pulse to direct action and chapter development of public policies. His vision of a “national playing field” keeps him in touch with current issues and political fairness.<br /><br />&nbsp;In 1985 Mr. Steele was elected to the Tuscaloosa City Council where he served two terms. His dedication to serving his constituents is evident through his many worthwhile and tangible accomplishments in Tuscaloosa County and West Alabama. During his tenure as City Councilman, he organized the Unity Day Scholarship Fund, The Tuscaloosa Police Athletic League, and secured funds to build the Bernice Washington Insight Center, a drug treatment center. He organized the Tuscaloosa Drug Task Force and after many years of relenting efforts, the Partners for a <b>Drug free </b>Tuscaloosa County (formerly Tuscaloosa Drug Task Force). During that time the partnership was awarded one million dollars. In 1994, Charles Steele, Jr. was elected to the Alabama State Senate. The Senator played key roles in recruiting not one, but several new plants in his district. He was instrumental in locating Tire and Wheel Assembly (T&WA) in Greene County, H&H (truck beds) in Perry County and Greenco Dimensions, Inc. (drum sticks) in Greene County. He also sponsored a non-traditional educational program with Robert Townsend of Hollywood, California for the youth of his district. Additionally, he recruited the Rosa Parks movie to Alabama, where he served as a consultant to the production of the $7 million CBS movie project.<br /><br /><b>He was serving his third terms as Senator before resigning to become the National Vice President of the SCLC, the Atlanta based organization founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In October 2000</b>, Charles Steele was elected as a Senate Member of the High Chamber (U. S. Parliamentary Group) of the International States Parliament for Safety and Peace. The International Parliament nominated Mr. Steele to the Ministry of American Affairs on the 15th of March 2001. Charles Steele graduated from Druid High in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and attended college at Mississippi Valley State University and Oakland University.&nbsp; He received his bachelor’s degree from American International University at the Paramaribo Suriname, South America Campus. He holds an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the prestigious Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, an Honorary Doctorate of Christian Education from the F. T. Bozeman School of Ministry and Global Evangelical Christian College of Louisiana, and an Honorary Doctorate from American International University at the Paramaribo Suriname, South America Campus.<br /><br />He and his wife, <b>Cathelean Annette Steele</b> are the proud parents of two daughters, LeKeisha and Charla. Mr. Steele is co-owner of Vanhoose and Steele Funeral Home. He is a Democrat, a Baptist and President of The Steele Group, a consultant firm.</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">National Staff<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DeMark Liggins, Chief Finance Officer (CFO)<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maynard Eaton, National Director of Communications<br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cathelean Steele, Special Programs Director</span><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; LaKiesha Raye, Executive Assistan<br /></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">==<br /></font></p></div></div></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><br /></font>