Group plans I-70 protest over minority hiring on projects

A group of minority contractors and businesspeople say plans are in the works to hold a protest Monday on Interstate 70 in the middle of festivities for the All-Star Game.

Members of the African-American Business and Contractors Association said at a press conference Thursday that too few minority contractors are being hired as subcontractors on public projects, and the region needs to be aware of this.

"It seems like things have changed. In reality, they have not changed," said Hilary Ogunrinde, member of the contractors association. "You should be outraged because there is discrimination in your neighborhood."

The group plans to stop traffic downtown on I-70 during evening rush hour to create a brief inconvenience — but members stopped short of saying exactly where or how.

Currently, state goals for disadvantaged business enterprises combine women and minority contractors. But firms owned by white women are getting most of the disadvantaged-business work — 88 percent in Missouri, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. That leaves minority contractors with 12 percent. In Illinois, about 70 percent of contracts to disadvantaged businesses have gone to women contractors, and 30 percent to minorities.

The demonstration Monday would occur 10 years and one day after a similar protest brought motorists to a halt on I-70 at Goodfellow Boulevard. That protest, which resulted in 125 arrests, vaulted tension over the lack of highway contracts for minority businesses onto a national stage.

Ogunrinde assured that the group intends for no arrests at the protest Monday. "We will be visible," she added.

St. Louis police said they will keep an eye on the safety of protesters. If they violate any traffic laws, "they will be arrested accordingly," said Erica Van Ross, police spokeswoman. "We hope that whenever any group exercises that right through protest, that they do so peacefully, safely and lawfully."

The plan for a demonstration comes as discussions are under way about minority participation in the $640 million Mississippi River bridge between downtown and the Metro East area. Construction is scheduled to begin in January.

Missouri and Illinois transportation officials have been meeting with minority contractors about the issue since February. The state departments plan to ask the U.S. Department of Transportation for a waiver so they could set separate goals for women- and minority-owned businesses in the bridge work.

The request isn't to reduce participation by women-owned businesses, only to bring minority contractors up to the same participation, said Marisa Kollias, spokeswoman for the Illinois Transportation Department.

Said Marie Elliott, spokeswoman for MoDOT, "We're all working toward the same thing."

The planned protest has the support of United Congregations of Metro-East. Other representatives of minority contracting groups are lukewarm on the idea, although they say change is needed to open up opportunities for minority contractors.

MO-KAN, which has organized other rallies, would rather see where talks go with Missouri and Illinois officials over the bridge work before protesting.

"We have not exhausted that process," said Yaphett El-Amin, director of MoKAN.

Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, said there are other ways to mark the 10-year anniversary of the I-70 protest. "I do believe there could be some tangible things we could do without taking the shutdown approach," she said. "I want to believe that MoDOT is trying hard in good faith to bring about participation."

Makal Ali, president of the African-American Business and Contractors Association, said the issues are no different than they were in 1999. "Are we getting our fair share?" Ali said. "We don't feel we have."

Courtesy of Elisa Crouch of St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Also Steve Giegerich of St. Louis Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.


Eric E. Vickers
Attorney, Minority Inclusion Alliance
St. Louis Metropolitan.