ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis City NAACP says nooses have been found in several workplaces around the area. The organization believes African American workers are being intimated and are walking away from their jobs as a result.
St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt said his chapter has complaints for every month this year of racist behavior at St. Louis businesses.
According to Pruitt, his office has at least 11 complaints, including some at the St. Louis City Refuse Division.
“That means that every month in 2024 there has been an incident of some sort of noose involving somebody’s workplace, even within city government,” Pruitt said.
The NAACP provided numerous photos during a Tuesday news conference, describing this as a wake-up call.
“You may recall, in history, that it was Martin Luther King was in Memphis fighting for refuse workers when he lost his life,” Pruitt said. “So, it’s very interesting that we still today find ourselves fighting the same sort of fight against the same sort of issues for refuse workers here in the City of St. Louis.”
Betherny Williams, director of the St. Louis Streets Department, said the refuse division takes the allegations seriously and will investigate.
“The city does not condone this type of behavior. Any type of discrimination, racial or sexual discrimination, so it will be investigated,” she said. “We’re working closely with personnel. As you remember, two weeks ago this came arise with some of our employees that walked out from the Refuse Division, and so we are investigating.”
In February, the Missouri Central School Bus Company terminated its contract with St. Louis Public Schools a year early after a noose was found near the workstation of a Black mechanic and drivers walked out.
The NAACP said you’ll see pictures of the nooses along with the names of the companies accused on billboards and social media.
“We have to get a point across that this sort of behavior is not going to be tolerated,” Pruitt said, adding that the cases have been reported to the FBI.
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