ST. LOUIS (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton will make a campaign stop today in St. Louis and will meet with black activists over lingering concerns about minority participation in a light rail expansion project here, supporters said today.

Sharpton is scheduled to attend a noontime rally on the parking lot of Riverview Plaza Supermarket on the city’s north side. A news conference was planned for 1 p.m.

A faxed statement said Sharpton would "address local and national issues" but did not elaborate. Calls and e-mails to Sharpton campaign offices were not returned.

But Jamilah Nasheed, co-chairwoman of the Concerned Citizens Coalition, said Sharpton will meet with her group as it considers what to do next to protest the failure to hire more minority-owned companies for the MetroLink project.

"We will continue civil disobedience if something doesn’t change," Nasheed said.

About 5 percent of subcontracting work on the $550 million MetroLink expansion has gone to companies owned by minorities. Some black leaders believe about a quarter of the work should go to minority-owned firms.

Angela Mabry, a spokeswoman for Metro, the agency that operates MetroLink, said Metro "continues to explore ways to increase minority participation in our construction project."

In June, Nasheed and Eric Vickers, also of the coalition, were arrested after briefly blocking MetroLink tracks at a station near Forest Park. Train service was disrupted only briefly.

Two weeks ago, Sharpton led a small group of protesters through an outdoor party at Union Station celebrating the 10th anniversary of MetroLink. No arrests were made, but protesters chanted loudly during speeches.

Sharpton vowed to return if progress wasn’t made.

For a while, there did appear to be progress. Eddie Hasan, president of MoKan, a not-for-profit organization that assists minority and women contractors, said last week that talks with Metro were going well.

Nasheed said those talks stalled after Metro awarded another bid to a white-owned firm. Hasan was out of the country yesterday and was unavailable for comment. Mabry declined to comment.

The expansion will take the system westward to Clayton and Shrewsbury. MetroLink carries passengers from Lambert Airport to the downtown and into Illinois. About 44,000 passengers ride daily; about 108,000 ride public buses, also operated by Metro.