[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E757]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO PERCY GREEN II, CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

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                           HON. WM. LACY CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2005

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Percy Green II 
who was among those outstanding Americans recently celebrated in the 
``Voices of Civil Rights'' exhibit at the Library of Congress. It 
featured oral histories and photographs taken during the Voices of 
Civil Rights bus tour, which began in Washington, DC, on August 3, 
2004. This 70-day tour through 22 states and 30 cities followed part of 
the route of the 1961 Freedom Rides to Jackson, Mississippi.
  Mr. Green is a great St. Louisan who has earned a place in our 
Nation's history for his role in the fight to end racial 
discrimination. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mr. 
Green said: ``I realized that poor people and less fortunate people 
were not poor and less fortunate by choice. When I was able to realize 
there was such a thing that was called the white power structure, and 
it had a face and it was tangible, then of course, that was when I felt 
that it needed to be targeted.''
  In the early 1960s, Mr. Green was one of the few working class 
members of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality. He was then an 
aircraft electrician--which he learned by correspondence--at the 
McDonnell-Douglas Corporation. He took it upon himself to help other 
African Americans find decent jobs and so he founded the Action Council 
to Improve Opportunities for Negroes (ACTION). ACTION targeted local 
St. Louis corporations and government bodies to expose job 
discrimination and demand better jobs for minorities. In numerous acts 
of civil disobedience they marched, sat-in, protested, disrupted and 
lobbied for a fair share of America's promise. Many St. Louisans still 
remember that organization's first public demonstration when Mr. Green 
and a white man climbed up a leg of the St. Louis Gateway Arch while it 
was under construction. ACTION served as the central organization for 
desegregating working class jobs well into the 1980s.
  The list of actions taken by Mr. Green on behalf of his fellow 
citizens is long indeed. Even today, at age 69, he remains deeply 
committed to ending injustice and protecting human rights. His great 
courage, personal sacrifice and vision have earned Percy Green national 
recognition and praise.
  Mr. Speaker. I am honored to recognize Mr. Percy Green II before the 
U.S. House of Representatives for his lifetime achievements in the 
civil rights movement. He is among my heroes and I am proud to salute 
him for his many lasting contributions to both our community, and to 
the Nation.

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