A Tribute to a True Hero
The recent death of Eric Vickers, my friend and my lawyer, was a devastating blow to me and my family–and undoubtedly to black contractors throughout the East St. Louis and St. Louis Metro Area who benefited from the many fights for equal rights and inclusion in the construction industry that Eric launched on their behalf for over thirty years.
I have known Eric since he was a mere lad. I was his barber during his younger years. While listening to him and watching how he led attention in conversations in my father’s barber shop on matters well beyond what would be expected of someone his age, he showed me and others how well read and intelligent he was.
As president of the Metro East Black Contractors Organization for the past fifteen years, I, along with members of our organization, were fortunate that Eric has not only served as our lawyer but has stood shoulder to shoulder with us against unfair general contractors, unfair Department of Transportation Policies, and construction labor unions; and he fought this fight for the most part as a volunteer.
Eric was raised from birth on 18th Piggott Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois. His family moved to University City, Missouri when he was a teenager but he had an abiding love for East St. Louis. He credited Dunbar Elementary School in the city and its teachers for giving him a strong academic foundation that enabled him to achieve academic excellence at the prestigious Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri), where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, a master in Urban Studies at Occidental College (California), and a Juris Doctorate Law Degree from the University of Virginia.
As a product of East St. Louis, I think I can speak for the entire East St. Louis community by recognizing Eric as a “Hero” in every sense of the word.
Submitted by William E. Mason, Ph.D.
Former Superintendent of District 189 and Former Mayor of East St. Louis, Illinois