Climbing the Arch

Forty years ago this week, two civil rights activists climbed the then under-construction St. Louis Arch to protest the lack of black workers on the site. Their stealth execution allowed Percy Green and Richard Daly access to the contruction site without notice. The pair had climbed several hundred feet up the Arch before being spotted and causing a national media stir. The next week following the protest, the National Parks Service announced the hiring of black general contractors, ironworkers, carpenters, cements masons, etc.

On Wednesday, July 14 at 2 pm, a commemoration of the daring act and its successful results is being planned on the Arch grounds. We need to celebrate the struggles that led to the opening up of jobs to African Americans even beyond the Arch construction. We also need to assess our progress (or lack thereof) and continue to raise the issue of racism and sexism in the construction trades in 2004.

Please join us tomorrow.

Organization for Black Struggle