Places that were crucial to the civil rights movement in the mid-20th century are starting to deteriorate, U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay says, which is one of the main reasons why he’s pushing to preserve them.
Clay’s other angle: He has Republican support, including U.S. Rep. Jason Smith of Salem, Mo. The two are co-sponsors of a bill that passed the U.S. House on Wednesday that would establish the African-American Civil Rights Network.
“I’m truly gratified by this rare moment of bipartisan cooperation,’’ Clay, a Democrat from University City, told St. Louis Public Radio. Smith and his staff did not immediately comment on the legislation, but Clay said Smith was key in helping get the measure passed.
Clay described the bill as something that “would authorize the National Park Service to establish a program to preserve and protect the memory of the people and places that were significant in the struggle to secure equal rights for African-Americans.”
The bill goes to the Senate next. If it becomes law, the park service would select the sites.
Clay’s bill focuses on sites related to civil rights protests from the 1930s through 1968, when the Civil Rights Act was passed. In the St. Louis area, that would be near Jefferson Bank, which saw marches in 1963.
Clay also said his bill is modeled after an earlier law that seeks to preserve sites from the 1800s crucial in the fight against slavery, such as Underground Railroad stops in East St. Louis and Cairo, Ill.
Clay added that his chief goal is to see history preserved, “and to teach the lessons to all Americans of the struggles that got us through the civil rights movement and made us a more equal society.”
Follow Jo on Twitter: @jmannies
