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#10YearsLater #UnflinchingProgress: Percy Green

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

π‘Šβ„Žπ‘’π‘› π‘€π‘Žπ‘  π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘“π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘ π‘‘ π‘‘π‘–π‘šπ‘’ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘‘? π‘Šβ„Žπ‘œ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘’π‘”β„Žπ‘‘ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ β„Žπ‘œπ‘€ π‘‘π‘œ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘ π‘‘?

“The person who first got me involved in joining the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was Joseph Fischetti, a white dude of Italian descent who was part of the Beatnik crowd. We worked together at McDonnell Douglas making wire harnesses and he read poetry In Gaslight Square. He said, β€˜Hey, brother, you need to go to these meetings.’ After a while, I went to a couple and that’s how I met a guy by the name of Eugene Tournour, the person I learned from and who, to me, appeared to be most knowledgeable ​​about civil rights activities. He was a field secretary in our organization who answered a lot of questions for me about coming into the movement. Just having those relationships and meeting other people from CORE… they were all graduates with degrees and they’d discuss various things. It was interesting enough that whenever they met and welcomed me to attend, I started observing. When I first started going to meetings, they kept using the term β€˜white power structure.’ I didn’t know what that meant. So I asked him, β€˜Who is the white power structure? What does that mean?’ He informed me that they are the Chief Executive Officers of big businesses. The CEOs of all the large companies in a community who together make major decisions and are responsible for underlying decision-makers. They make contributions to religious and political organizations. And they’re who all the smaller institutions look toward for contributions to keep them in existence. The average resident isn’t aware that these people, like an invisible government, meet and determine what happens in a community. Well, I wasn’t aware of any of that either and it began making sense.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

β€œIt got to a point where the progressives in CORE were either going to adhere to our way of thinking in terms of maintaining the fight, or set up another organization with our know-how and energy and let them go ahead and do what they wanted to do with community organizing. We ended up prevailing, set up the Action Committee To Improve Opportunities for Negroes (ACTION), and taking on the utility companies. And we did that because we looked at the CEOs of the electric, gas, and telephone companies and went after them. At that time, they didn’t have any Blacks doing telephone installation, working as meter readers, or as linemen who climbed the poles. Those jobs paid good money and you didn’t have to be a college graduate. You could just be trained on the job.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

Β β€œAt first, protesting didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. It was just something people did. It was way beyond my level of understanding, so I didn’t even bother. Well, my father was a worker at a packing house and he supported unions. So when I gravitated into this environment with protesting, I was able to relate to how what people were doing was similar to what my father talked about when workers went on strike for better wages and working conditions. Up until my work with CORE, this group was trying to get people jobs. They were having important meetings with people who did the hiring and trying to determine when they were gonna start hiring Black folks. Hiring women wasn’t even on the table at that point.Β 

Still, I remember thinking, β€˜Some of the people fighting for workers’ rights don’t seem rational.’ What they looked upon as progress, to me, wasn’t radical enough β€” even though I had no radical experience yet. For example, at some of the meetings, they told us they went to the Famous-Barr management to try to get folks hired as janitors or elevator operators. They’d have a meeting and then say, β€˜We had a very successful meeting.’ They’d go on to explain how the first meeting they had, the person they met with was pretty harsh. Then at the next meeting, they were greeted with tea and cookies. And they were measuring that as progress. Then, three and four meetings after, it was still tea and cookies, or tea and donuts, or somebody came into the room and smiled. That went on and on and on. I said, β€˜Why do you keep seeing this as progress? You’re there to get some jobs. You met with these people. Why can’t you see this is a stalling tactic on their part?’

When I was single, I used to have these parties at my house. And that’s a great way to get to feel people’s level of understanding. Or, if there’s additional information to gain, it was a chance to do that there, as opposed to someone maybe not wanting to express something at an open meeting. That’s how I really got some understanding from Eugene Treneur. Like, when I asked him, β€˜Who in the hell is the white power structure you all keep talking about?’ I got curious. Especially, when they said that CEOs are the movers and shakers and major decision-makers as part of regional commerce and growth.”

Percy Green II, a battle-tested activist who led a former proactive volunteer direct-action protest organization, ACTION (1965-1985) & was the plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court landmark employment discrimination case β€˜McDonnell Douglas Corporation v. Green.’

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

π·π‘œ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ 𝑠𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑙 π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘ π‘‘ π‘›π‘œπ‘€? π»π‘Žπ‘£π‘’ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘‘ 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘™π‘Žπ‘ π‘‘ 10 π‘¦π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘ ?

β€œOh, yeah! I occasionally hit the streets. But I haven’t been arrested. Currently, I’m working with a group and we had some rallies to change the name of the Homer G. Phillips Hospital near Downtown St. Louis. Paul McKee opened this private three-bed healthcare facility using the Homer G. Phillips name. So I’m working with the Change the Name Coalition in conjunction with the Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni. McKee’s using the name for commercial purposes and we see it as trademark abuse, so we’re trying to get him to remove it. I’m not part of the leadership, just the coalition. Still, I haven’t engaged in any actions of civil disobedience because I don’t have the organization behind me anymore. Many of the members I knew have passed on or don’t have the health. I can still walk though. And I strongly suggest folks get that type of experience.”

Paul Ockrassa, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Courtesy St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri–St. Louis

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

Paul Ockrassa, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Courtesy St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri St. Louis

β€œBetween 5:30 and 6:00 p.m., we decided to come down from the Arch. Daly, on the left with the glasses on, was the first to hit the ground, but they didn’t place him under immediate arrest. Then I hit the ground and they placed me under arrest. So I went limp. That’s why I’m lying there, not participating with the authorities. If you notice, I’m holding my hands up too because I wanted to show that no one was under any kind of threat from me or that I reached for something in my pockets. I did that because the press was there and everything was being recorded. At that point, the police called for a cruiser to pick me up. After me, they grabbed Daly by the arm, thinking he was going to walk to the police car, but he went limp and they had to pick him up, too. All of that was orchestrated. It was all planned, because when you go limp you prolong the whole event. Had I just been willing to get in the police car and drive away, this picture would have never existed.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

β€œRichard Daly and I were both members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and had just completed engaging in protests and demonstrations at Jefferson Bank for about six months. I was elected to be the chairperson of CORE’s employment committee. Well, we had a bunch of folks, Black and white, who had been meeting. And when we could verify to the group that the four Blacks who we demanded get hired at the bank got hired, we transitioned our sites to the Arch.

We already had it on our agenda and were actively working towards meeting with the builders. During negotiations, they said they determined the reason no Blacks were working on the Arch was because there weren’t any qualified. Alright. From there, we knew we had to carry on some form of direct action. At that point, the Arch was 300 feet high. We didn’t want to carry out an action if it was already completed. That didn’t make sense. If we were gonna do something to get some jobs, we needed to do it while it was under construction.Β 

We made a plan as to how we were going to get on the Arch grounds. First and foremost, we needed to know how close we could get to the Arch in the event that we wanted to disrupt it. We asked who was available from CORE to see whether or not someone could get close enough to climb it. Was it even climbable? Mostly everyone was working during the day, so the group said, β€˜Percy and Daly, you both seem to be available. What are the chances of you going Downtown just to check things out first?’ We said, β€˜Okay, we’ll do that.’”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

Β β€œDaly and I decided the best time to go check it out would be at lunchtime since most of the workers would be relaxed. That made sense between the two of us. So we caught the bus and walked over to the Arch grounds. It was all clear. Everyone was eating. We walked right past them and right up to the Arch. The workers seemed to go up the Arch on an elevator they had put in place, but there was also a ladder on the side that looked like it was for emergencies. Daly and I looked at each other, walked right back from the grounds, got a bus, and when we had our meeting with the others, we gave a report. We said climbing the Arch was doable.

The program then was to lay out the strategy. When would people be available? We chose July 14th, 1964. On that day, we had to make sure we had everything in place. We had the bondsman. Bob Curtis was our lawyer and spokesperson. The National Park Service was in place by the Old Court Building and they had binoculars there to look at the men building the Arch as a sightseeing event. We told Curtis if he looked through the binoculars at noon or afterward, he could determine if we were successful or not in climbing. I’d be waving my hand and he could then direct the press that we had done it. The diversion was that we were gonna call the press first and set up a picket line in front of the Old Courthouse. Then we’d tell the press there was going to be an arrest to energize them to cover it. They didn’t have no problem arresting Black folks doing something like that.

The picket line was supposed to start at 11 a.m. and around 12 p.m. the press was there. Curtis looked through the binoculars at about 12:15 to see if we climbed the Arch. I waved my hand hoping he’d see us. He did and told the press that two members of CORE had climbed it. That triggered them to come over. And they got photos and black and white video.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

π‘Šβ„Žπ‘’π‘› π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π·π‘Žπ‘™π‘¦ π‘€π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ 𝑒𝑝 π‘œπ‘› π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π΄π‘Ÿπ‘β„Ž π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ 𝑓𝑖𝑣𝑒 π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘Ž β„Žπ‘Žπ‘™π‘“ β„Žπ‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘ , π‘‘π‘œ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘šπ‘’π‘šπ‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘€β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘™π‘˜π‘’π‘‘ π‘Žπ‘π‘œπ‘’π‘‘?

β€œYeah, we were concerned about whether the strategy we put together was going to be as effective as we thought.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

β€œAfter the event, I was bonded out in order for me to get to my job. I didn’t know until years later, that Daly was arrested and ended up in the Workhouse for a few days. I assumed he was bonded out like me, and just didn’t attend our regular meetings days after because he had family business or something. The charges were dropped for both of us. And then they started some action to get a couple of Blacks on the job as contractors.”

𝐷𝑖𝑑 π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 π‘™π‘–π‘˜π‘’ π‘Ž 𝑀𝑖𝑛?

β€œKind of, sort of. Some people saw it as a major victory. We didn’t get the 1,000 jobs we asked for, but it was a start. It was something. After that, within CORE, us members had a difference as to whether we were going to continue with civil disobedience or community organizing. The progressive element within CORE felt like the latter was too slow of a process. We felt that if we were going to bring about changes for Blacks and jobs, civil disobedience would be the best technique. At the same time, we realized we’d be running a big risk with people going to jail. We’d need a mechanism to raise money to pay fines and to develop strategies and tactics to be able to get people out of jail, making sure to design the kind of demonstrations that wouldn’t be too risky for the participants. In other words, we didn’t want people to engage in suicide or get injured or killed. We wanted our demonstrations to be non-violent and also colorful enough to transmit to the community overall that an event is taking place and why it’s occurring.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

π‘Šβ„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘€π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘€β„Žπ‘’π‘› π‘€π‘–π‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘’π‘™ π΅π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘€π‘› π½π‘Ÿ. π‘€π‘Žπ‘  π‘˜π‘–π‘™π‘™π‘’π‘‘?

β€œPolice brutality wasn’t anything new. We had police killing Black folks back then and we protested as a reactionary activity. I remember a youngster being handcuffed in a police car and then shot dead at the station. His name was Melvin Craven. White policemen were killing Blacks decades ago and it was considered justifiable homicide because a policeman would claim he felt his life was threatened. Same story with what happened with Michael Brown. So, being aware and involved with those experiences, time and time and time again, we’ve seen what happens when emotions reach that level.

But the interesting thing to me is that very seldom do you hear the name Darren Wilson, the white policeman who did the execution. Every now and then, there’s a reference to him. But, for me, the question is, where is he? Every time you hear the name Michael Brown Jr., why don’t we also hear the name of the person who murdered him? If my organization was still in place, that would have been the type of thing I would have made sure of for something as high profile as this. My group would have kept the spotlight on him. He could very well be a police officer somewhere else. Why should a guy like that get to still be a policeman after his questionable activities here in St. Louis?Β 

The changes that have occurred, I hate to say, are okay. But most of them were superficial. In the scheme of things, what is still necessary is a change to eliminate qualified immunity for the police. How is it they can just claim that they feel threatened and someone’s life is taken? So, in the past 10 years, I think there hasn’t been much change. In terms of policy, abuse of authority is still prevailing.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

π»π‘œπ‘€ 𝑑𝑖𝑑 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘šπ‘’π‘’π‘‘ π½π‘Žπ‘šπ‘Žπ‘™π‘Ž? π‘Šβ„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ 𝑖𝑠 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘™π‘œπ‘£π‘’ π‘ π‘‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘¦ π‘€π‘–π‘‘β„Ž π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘  π‘€π‘œπ‘šπ‘Žπ‘› π‘€β„Žπ‘œ 𝑀𝑒 π‘Žπ‘™π‘ π‘œ 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑 π‘Žπ‘› β„Žπ‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘–π‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘£π‘–π‘’π‘€π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘π‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘™π‘¦?

β€œWell, did you ask her how she met me?”

𝐼 π‘€π‘Žπ‘–π‘‘π‘’π‘‘ π‘‘π‘œ π‘Žπ‘ π‘˜ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’.

β€œOh, okay! Well, my son’s mother passed in ’97. Jamala, like my first wife, Betty, is a strong woman. We met at so many meetings and meetings and meetings. Discussions, discussions, discussions. More meetings, meetings, and meetings. Then, coffee, coffee, coffee. And somebody told me they thought we had chemistry. I said, β€˜Oh, really. Is that what y’all thought? I wasn’t aware of that. It’s interesting you have that observation.’ They said, β€˜Well, y’all seem to always end up at the same place and have the same outlook on things.’ I said, β€˜I hadn’t thought of it like that. But maybe y’all got something there.’ And as a result, I said, β€˜Yeah. What if…?’ Now that I think of it, I guess all of our meetings became dates. Sometimes I would pay and sometimes she’d say, β€˜I’ll get it.’”

π‘Šβ„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ 𝑖𝑠 π½π‘Žπ‘šπ‘Žπ‘™π‘Žβ€™π‘  𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑑 π‘žπ‘’π‘Žπ‘™π‘–π‘‘π‘¦?

β€œJamala’s best quality is organizing.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

π»π‘œπ‘€ π‘‘π‘œ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘€π‘–π‘ β„Ž π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘™π‘’π‘”π‘Žπ‘π‘¦ π‘‘π‘œ 𝑏𝑒 π‘˜π‘›π‘œπ‘€π‘›?

β€œHow much control do I have over that? Because no matter what I say, it can be taken out of context. Like what I told you about the photo of Daly and I climbing the Arch in protest. Or, if all of the books written about my activism are destroyed and the only one that still exists says that I chained myself to the Arch, people from that point on will be led to think, once upon a time there was a dude in St. Louis who chained himself to the Arch in protest. But, I understand what you’re asking. And I’m an advocate of β€˜actions speak louder than words.’ And I can’t be involved in everything. Whether or not I say time out, Mother Nature’s eventually gonna time you out.”

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis

Photo credit: Lindy Drew / Humans of St. Louis