2600 Washington Avenue

From August 30, 1963 until March 31, 1964, Jefferson Bank & Trust Company was the scene of a 7 month long demonstration organized by the St. Louis Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), aimed at forcing the bank to hire four black clerical workers. Protests proceeded despite injunctions obtained by the bank to halt them. A number of organizers were arrested, convicted and sentenced to fines and jail terms. Among those taking part in the protest were Alderman William L Clay elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1966; Louis Ford who was later a state senator; and community leaders Robert Curtis, who was then president of CORE, Norman R. Seay, Herman Thompson, Lucian Richards and Charles and Marion Oldham. The demonstrations finally ended when the bank hired five black clerical employees. In September 1992, the bank, now at 2301 Market was the scene of a demonstrations marking the anniversary of the 1963 protest.