Daughter of Ray Charles Preaches at Harbor Light Shelter

Sheila Raye Charles almost blew the roof off the Harbor Light Shelter in Minneapolis on Feb. 23 when she preached to a standing-room-only crowd about how she overcame decades of hardship by turning to God. The room full of men and women – many battling addiction themselves – spent an hour dancing and shouting “Amen!” as Charles told her life story. (See photos.) 

Charles, the daughter of legendary singer Ray Charles, endured a 15-year addiction to cocaine, child sexual abuse, prison, losing custody of her five children and plenty more. Her problems ended the moment she surrendered to God.

“I called out to God and He said he was going to love me through this thing,” she said, referring to the moment she cried out to Him during her third stint in prison. “The same spiritual truth He has for me, He has for you.”

Charles sang original gospel songs and preached about a range of topics, from addiction to abuse to spiritual growth.

“Ladies, the devil’s not going to come at you looking ugly,” she told the women in the audience, who were shouting praises back at her. “He’s going to come in a suit, with bling-bling, smelling good and driving a Mercedes. I can see the devil coming a mile away.”  

Many of the men and women served by Harbor Light, the state’s largest homeless outreach center, have faced adversity similar to that of Charles. Such people here and elsewhere find hope in her testimony as she tours the U.S. and abroad.

“They told me I was going to speak in Estonia. I said great…where’s that?” she joked to the audience.

Charles said many of her problems stemmed from the fact that she barely knew her father, and that being the daughter of a famous person was difficult and confusing – especially at a young age. She is one of 12 children Ray Charles fathered with 10 different women.

Two other speakers shared their testimony earlier in the evening – K.G. Wilson and “Reggie G.” Both are reformed gang members and drug users who have devoted their lives to saving others mired in addiction and gang life.

“I'll love you even with a needle in your arm,” said Wilson, who regularly stands at Minneapolis street corners with a bullhorn, proclaiming his message of love and hope.