July 12, 2009, will mark the 10th anniversary of the 1999 morning rush hour shutdown of Interstate 70, in which over one hundred blacks were arrested for their civil disobedience protest about the lack of jobs and contracts going to blacks on construction projects like the one then occurring on the highway.
From that protest, a construction training school known as the Construction Prep Center (CPC) was established in 2000, and it has since introduced and ushered into the construction industry close to a thousand minority workers.
In its January 2009 report to the Missouri Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, the CPC reported that, "More than 80 CPC graduate apprentices have been hired on St. Louis construction and construction-related work during the past 15 months (CYO7-08/08-09) as detailed below." The CPC report then lists the names of each of the apprentices, their employers, and their construction trades.
For Obama's economic stimulus package to close the huge racial gap and disparity in the construction industry, which is vital to the economic empowerment of the minority community, there will be a need for many more CPCs. And, hopefully, with an African- American president, less of a need for the action which brought it about.
Eric E. Vickers
Attorney, Minority Inclusion Alliance
St. Louis Metropolitan.
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God bless you Attorney Vickers. My son graduated from the Construction Prep Center. It is so unfortunate that you suffered for us and we did nothing about it.
ReplyDeleteGloria Anderson.
North St. Louis.
Ms. Anderson,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. But mostly thank your son for me. Progress does not come without sacrifice and, yes, some suffering. But seeing black men and women working out on construction sites makes it all worth it. And then some. Thank you - and thank him - again.
Eric
Eric,
ReplyDeleteLong time coming.... I wish you much success with this blog and hope you tell it like it is. Not only those that are not doing it right but those who are helping those who do it wrong. I stand in support of all you as it relates to minority inclusion and will assist you when called. Before the Stimulus Bill was voted on, I sent letters earlier to Congressman Clay and Senators McCaskill reminding them of D/M/W/BE inclusion in the Stimulus Package. As you know these funds are considered Federal Emergency Funds and are exempt from the DBE Program requirements. It will be upon the recipients of these funds to ensure minority opportunities are included. I did hear back from both offices and they assured me they will introduce some type of language to be included or amended to the bill to ensure DBE inclusion.
Please keep doing what you....
Eric:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful job. Keep up the struggle. You've sacrificed a lot. You really a true hero.
Tavis
Bellafonte neighborhoods.