B1G student-athletes to tour civil rights sites in Alabama over summer

Student-athletes from the B1G will make a trip to Alabama in July to tour civil rights sites as part of a program the conference has implemented to explore and understand race relations and social justice.

The conference released a statement on Monday morning, announcing the plan to travel with student-athletes to Alabama as part of the B1G Life Series. The program is designed to provide real-life experiences to the conference’s athletes.

“We established the Equality Coalition in June of 2020 to actively and constructively address and combat injustices in our society and to stimulate a meaningful dialogue about race relations in our nation,” said B1G commissioner Kevin Warren. “The Big Life Series represents another critical step forward in delivering life-changing, educational experiences to the Big Ten community that will empower them to use their voices to drive change in their respective communities. I look forward to walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma this summer, side-by-side with our student-athletes, administrators, and members of our Equality Coalition.”

From the B1G:

The Big Ten Conference delegation will visit the Montgomery Interpretive Center on the campus of Alabama State University to learn more about the profound impact that students had on the civil rights movement, and the significance of the Knight vs. Alabama landmark trial which ended segregation of funding of higher education across the State of Alabama. Additionally, the trip will include a visit to the award-winning Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) Legacy Museum, which provides a comprehensive overview of America’s history of racial injustice from enslavement to mass incarceration.

The conference says that more information regarding the B1G Life Series will be made available at a later date. The student-athletes will be heading to Alabama from July 15-17 for the experience.