In St. Louis in the 1960s, no civil rights leader was more a target of hatred than Percy Green. Many hated him for his headline-grabbing street theater. Others said it was just what was needed to end discrimination and open up jobs to African Americans. The liberal Post-Dispatch called Green “St. Louis’s most outrageous man.” The conservative Globe-Democrat called him “St. Louis’s non-stop racial agitator.” Both were right. He’s one of several “Rebels With a Cause” in The Colorful Characters of St. Louis not because they were funny, but because they fought for justice with a special style.
In 1963, Green helped lead demonstrations against racial discrimination in hiring at a local bank, the Jefferson Bank & Trust. Then he and others focused attention toward jobs at the federally-funded construction of the Gateway Arch.
On July 14, 1964, Green and white activist Richard Daly scurried 125 feet up ladders on the north side. It made local civil rights history.
In 1965, Green became the leader of a new group called ACTION. That group organized protests against an old local institution, the Veiled Prophet Parade and Ball. In 1972, a woman in an evening gown snuck behind the Veiled Prophet, snatched his veil, and tossed it away.
Green kept at it, getting arrested, making enemies and friends, and generally doing outrageous things. He’s now in his early 80s and still fighting. Looking back, it’s easy to see that sometimes it’s best to do the outrageous thing.
Jim Merkel the Writer 