On Tuesday, Emporia Community Action will mark the five-year anniversary of the first March on Emporia.
The original march — one of two held in the fall of 2015 — followed the discovery of a racial epithet on a notebook in the Emporia State University School of Library and Information Management and an ongoing dispute between former university employees Angelica and Melvin Hale on one side and ESU on the other. Event spokesperson Emily Velazquez Agaton says the goal of Tuesday’s march is to point out the existence of institutional racism and to discuss possible solutions.
The Hales have been involved in two separate $10 million lawsuits against Emporia State since the racial epithet was found in 2015. Melvin Hale’s lawsuit was eventually dismissed, but Angelica Hale was recently awarded over $64,000 in back pay, benefits and prejudgment interest as part of her case. Melvin Hale’s contract was not renewed, and Angelica Hale left the university after ESU decided against renewing her temporary position or moving forward with discussions about a full-time marketing position.
The march is set to begin at 5 pm outside Emporia State’s William Allen White Library before going down Commercial to Emporia Public Library for speeches and a voter registration effort before returning to campus. Emporia Community Action will have a news conference at 4 pm at Plumb Hall with the Hales giving a virtual conversation to those attending.
More information is available on the Emporia Community Action Facebook page.
