In 1968, a few weeks after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., thousands of people marched on Washington as part of the Poor People's Campaign. A project of King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the campaign highlighted the issue of economic justice. The first pillar of the campaign's "Economic Bill of Rights" was "a meaningful job at a living wage."
The Poor People's Campaign was partly a gesture of frustration at the progress of the "War on Poverty" launched by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In the years between Johnson's declaration and the march, Congress strengthened New Deal-era federal minimum wage laws to include most jobs.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal minimum hourly age in 1968 was $1.60, the equivalent of just under $12 today. The current FLSA minimum wage is $7.25.
Most states – and even some cities – have established their own minimum wage laws. The FLSA applies to nearly all jobs, so most workers are entitled to at least $7.25. If a state's (or city's) minimum wage is greater than $7.25, employers must pay the higher amount.
This map compares the federal and state minimum wages, from 1968 to the present.
This animated map was made using Esri's ArcGIS Pro, Cinema 4D, Redshift, and Adobe After Effects. Please visit http://ow.ly/fm2950xgu0B for more information about ArcGIS Pro.
Data Source: https://www.arcgis.com/home/group.html?id=670a1cdb916b419ca4b5eca4600ba94a#overview
Music: Roots by Josh Leake
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