Russellville resident Rev. Charles Dale spoke at the NAACP State Conference at Tuskegee Institute this past October.

By Matt Wilson

For the FCT

Reverend Charles Dale is retired after 60 years involved with the ministry, but he still feels the calling to help people and serve his community.

The former minister with St. Paul C.M.E. Church spoke at the most recent NAACP State Conference at Tuskegee Institute Oct. 16-19.

Dale said the conference focused on bringing people together and some of the various issues facing people today.

“The main goal of the meeting was to bring people and bring communities together,” Dale said.

“We talked about issues that are facing all kinds of people today and learned from some of the speakers the best ways to handle certain situations.”

Dale said he spoke about people’s callings and plans and placed it inside a biblical scenario.

“I talked about Moses and the Pharaoh and what God asked of Moses when he went down to Egypt,” Dale said.

“I talked about the fears involved sometimes when following God’s plan. We have the same task right now – to go to Montgomery, to go to City Hall, to go to D.C. – because God’s people are being mistreated.”

Dale said that the NAACP is an organization for everybody.

“Obviously the NAACP was started for the advancement of colored people,” Dale said, “but it is not a racist organization as it is sometimes portrayed. No, it is for everybody. It is for anybody with civil rights problems or anyone experiencing any kind of neglect.

“Everyone deserves to be treated equally and everyone has constitutional rights.”

Dale marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and has his name on the statue of Dr. King that was revealed in 2011 in Washington, D.C.

He said helping others has been a calling for him since he was young.

“Helping others and serving my community is a God given gift,” Dale said. “I’ve wanted to help people for a long time.”

Dale’s passion to help others and serve the community encompasses many different forms. He is the Legal Redress Chairman of the Tri-County chapter of the NAACP. He is a chairperson of the Reedtown School Historical Site and was instrumental in having it placed on Alabama’s Historical Charter. He also spent decades working for the city of Russellville, first as a firefighter and then at City Hall. Currently, Dale is part of a group promoting the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and trying to raise awareness of the black contribution to the music of Alabama.

“I’m always trying new things,” Dale said. “I tell people at my church all the time to keep moving forward and not backwards. There are things to do and there is a need for us to make this community better.”