A need for action  — still

The recent “No Kings” rallies held in more than 2,700 cities across all 50 states, making it one of the largest single-day demonstrations in U.S. history, drew an estimated 7 million protesters.

The demonstrations, organized in protest of President Donald Trump’s authoritarian actions and alleged corruption within his administration, were considered a success because of the massive turnout and largely peaceful conduct of participants. 

Renowned activist, Percy Green II, 90, regarded the protests as “a good start.”

“It was a tremendous start, but we have to do more than that,” Green stressed. “We have to make the administration feel the consequences of their poor decision-making by eventually calling for a general working strike.”

If the working class stopped working for a week or two and went to the streets, Green insists, it would have a much larger impact. Why? Because that type of messaging backed by large-scale, organized dramatic action will be more newsworthy and get the attention of the masses and all government officials, he said.

Being dramatic and newsworthy are the ingredients of Green’s activism.

In 1964, concerned about racial disparities and workers’ rights, Green joined CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), the group that mainstreamed the Jefferson Bank protests. However, he became frustrated with some of the group’s leaders whom he felt were making “backdoor deals” amid negotiations for jobs and fairness.

He also felt it wasn’t time to ease up after the bank agreed to hire Black people.

“We had the momentum and the attention,” Green told Take Five magazine in 2002, “so we felt that we needed to go ahead and hit something else.”

He and a few other activists decided to form another organization (ACTION) that would “carry on with negotiations, but our main shtick would be civil disobedience.” Green co-founded the organization, Action Committee to Improve Opportunities for Negroes, in 1965.

Its core mission was to abolish “the symbolism of racism, sexism and elitism of the city.” In that spirit, he ushered in an in-your-face, disruptive form of protest that brought action, drama and news cameras to the streets.

That approach soon escalated into one of the most dramatic moments in St. Louis activism history. The new documentary, “Percy Green: Man of ACTION,” places viewers smack dab into the moment Green and another activist, Richard Daly, were arrested after climbing 125 feet up the north leg of the unfinished Gateway Arch.

The men temporarily held up construction on the site while instigating a form of protest that was different, dramatic and definitely newsworthy.

ACTION continued to take bold stands. The organization declared it was going to “disrupt” the private, high-society organization that sponsored the annual Veiled Prophet Parade and Ball. In 1972, it achieved the unthinkable when white members of the group bought tickets to the ball, climbed the stage and unmasked the Veiled Prophet, upending a 98-year-old tradition.

The racially diverse organization continued to make headlines. Under its campaign for “More and Better Jobs for Black Males,” the group targeted public utility companies such as Laclede Gas Company (now Spire), Union Electric (now Ameren) and Southwestern Bell Telephone.

In the early ’70s, ACTION members were arrested after its “stick-in” demonstrations where they entered the telephone company’s downtown office and poured molasses on desks, furniture and floors.

A similar stunt was repeated in the downtown lobby of the gas company where the group spread what was reported to be a mixture of bull, horse, dog and cat manure laced with limburger cheese on the walls, floors and desks of the office.

Though they were never caught by police, ACTION members were suspected of accosting utility company crews working in Black neighborhoods. They were told to hire Black workers or put their safety at risk.

“With acts of civil disobedience, we felt people could learn how to create pictorial events rather than events you read about in newspapers or see on TV,” Green explained. “It was all about drama. We tried to come up with as many different means of disruption that were as nonviolent as possible yet newsworthy.”

Green’s legacy continues to inspire others who watched his methods transform St. Louis protest culture. Zaki Baruti, 78, founder and President of the Universal African People’s Organization (UAPO), set an example for those with a desire to enact change.

“He was the forerunner for what change should look like,” Baruti said, adding: “The tactics he used, his commitment to uplift the race … I have the greatest respect for him.”

Former St. Louis Fire Chief, Sherman George, 81, who attended Green’s 90th birthday party in late August, called him “my hero” because of his work to employ Black people.

“Percy worked to make sure people had jobs,” George said. “He’s someone I’ve always admired — at first from a distance — but now I just love to be in his company.”

The “No Kings” protests made headlines. Green said he’s hopeful the example set will lead to other forms of protests. Black people, he added, need other specific forms of protest. Mostly because they have to grapple with a whole different set of issues outside the realms of authoritarianism and corruption.

Some of those issues include massive reductions of the federal workforce, where Black women in particular found ample opportunities; the suppression of Black history in schools, libraries and colleges; the reduction of Department of Education Funds for HBCUs and the rolling back of DEI Initiatives.

“Since the white working class has been the beneficiaries of racism, we (must) make them mindful of that. We can’t have one working class taking advantage of another working class,” Green said, emphasizing the need for alternative protesting.

“With civil disobedience, if executed properly, you can get a lot more done to encourage the adversary to do the right thing as well as making those acts so newsworthy where it educates and enlightens its observers.”

When asked what he thinks his greatest contributions to young activists has been, Green responded without hesitation.

“I think it’s the fact that I have utilized ingenuity in various forms of civil disobedience and nonviolent protests that should grab the attention of observers who can be enlightened to racism while at the same time holding those responsible accountable,” Green said.

ACTION was dismantled in the early 1980s. Still, some 40 years later, Green insists the variables of obstruction, political destruction and self-preservation remain the same.

“People in power are going to move in the manner they think is going to serve their best interest. … And we, as a people, must do the same thing to survive … act in our own best interest.”

Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.