A march in honor of Angelica and Melvin Hale will be held tomorrow at 5 p.m. starting in Kellogg Circle. The march, hosted by Emporia Community Action, hopes to address systemic oppression in the community, according to Jay Vehige, co-founder of Emporia Community Action.
Back in 2015, Angelica Hale was the assistant to the dean of the School of Library and Information Management and Melvin Hale was an assistant professor in SLIM. They sued after a racial epitaph written on a student’s notebook was found in the SLIM offices.
On August 26, 2020, U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree ordered Emporia State to pay $64,000 to the Angelica Hale after five years in court finding ESU guilty of retaliation after she filed her initial complaint with the university.
The march will begin on campus, and then make its way to the Emporia Public Library, Vehige said. There will also be multiple guest speakers, including the Hales.
“We’re intending on having a peaceful march, where as many community members and campus community members can come and join together for equality,” Vehige said.
