The Cavalier Daily
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Waging the expectations

On Inauguration Day, a revitalized Living Wage campaign reflects on its history and seeks progress with a new administration

TODAY, as we inaugurate our first female president, we can be proud of the progress this university has made toward overcoming its history of exclusion. However, as much as things have changed, the date April 15 also should remind us that some calls for justice have gone unanswered for far too long.

On April 15, 1998, faculty, staff, students and Charlottesville residents united to a launch a campaign for a living wage to ensure all employees at this university would be be paid wages commensurate with the basic cost of living in Charlottesville. Their call for justice echoed those delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he visited Charlottesville in 1963.

The group's protests for economic justice were not new to the University either.

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Carolyn Dillard, the Community Partnership Manager for the University’s Center of Community Partnerships, discusses the legacy of Dr. King through his 1963 speech at Old Cabell Hall and the Center's annual MLK Day celebrations and community events. Highlighting the most memorable moments of the keynote event by Dr. Imani Perry, Dillard explored the importance of Dr. King’s lasting message of resilience and his belief that individuals should hold themselves responsible for their actions and reactions.