SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 announced today that 46 student-athletes, coaches, administrators, conference staff, and other key stakeholders from across the Conference’s 12 world-class institutions will be part of a delegation traveling to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. The experience is set to take place from July 15-17 and include an immersive journey to one of the centers of the civil rights movement. The group will participate in a variety of activities highlighted by a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site of the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” attacks.

 

“The Pac-12 is committed to developing meaningful educational opportunities for our student-athletes, including in the critically-important area of social justice,” said Pac-12 Deputy Commissioner Teresa Gould.  “The trip to Selma & Montgomery will provide an unforgettable opportunity to learn about the civil rights movement, and to use the positive impact of those learnings to build a better society for all.”

 

The initiative, conducted in collaboration with the ACC and Big Ten, is part of a commitment to supporting student-athletes through meaningful educational opportunities, including the area of social justice.  The Pac-12 has developed a unique social outreach initiative with “Pac-12 Impact,” under which this trip is being conducted. Learn more about the initiative at Pac-12.com/impact.

 

The Pac-12’s social justice experience will begin Friday night in Montgomery with Sheyann Webb-Christburg – author and an in-person eyewitness of the original Bloody Sunday attack – serving as the keynote speaker. The trip continues Saturday in Selma as Lydia Blackmon Lowery will share her story marching at the Selma Voting Rights march alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the group visits the First Baptist Church, the headquarters for the Dallas County Voters League, which was the student nonviolent coordination committee. The church earned the name “The Movement Church” and is where hundreds of students began their days-long journey from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. The trip will continue with a march across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge before the group returns to Montgomery to visit a series of landmarks, museums, and learning centers.

 

In Montgomery, the group will visit the Interpretive Center at Alabama State University, a Historically Black University (HBCU), to learn more about the profound impact that students had on the civil rights movement. The group will also spend time at the Civil Rights Memorial Center, the Alabama Department of Archives and History, and 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.

 

On Saturday evening, EJI Legacy Museum founder and social justice lawyer Bryan Stevenson will address the group while campus diversity, equity, and inclusion director lead small group debrief sessions with the student-athletes to discuss the Selma to Montgomery experience.

 

All 12 member institutions will have conducted a series of introductory virtual meetings prior to traveling to Alabama to discuss the purpose of the trip and to prepare for their experience. Upon returning to campus after the trip, the conference will provide tools and opportunities for each attendee to convey their experiences about the trip to their peers.

 

 

University	Student-Athlete
Arizona	Morgan Rhett, Women's Track & Field
	Diego Marquez, Men's Track & Field
Arizona State	Juliette Boyer, Women's Gymnastics
	Isabel Redmond, Women's Gymnastics
California	Tramayne 'Trey' Paster, Football
	Jameson McKenna, Women's Rowing
Colorado	Ian Gilmore, Men's Track & Field
	Karly van Leer, Women's Lacrosse
Oregon	TJ Gilbert, Football
	Zoe Williams, Women's Acrobatics & Tumbling
Oregon State	Ariana Young, Women's Gymnastics
	Tre'Shaun Harrison, Football
Stanford	Nya Harrison, Women's Soccer
	Elijah Higgins, Football
UCLA	Charisma Osborne, Women’s Basketball
	Sam Herenton, Men’s Track & Field
USC	Julien Simon, Football
	Jalaysiya Smith, Women’s Track & Field
Utah	Maya LeBar, Women’s Track & Field
	Hannah Truax, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Washington	Nia Lowery, Women’s Basketball
	Langston Wilson, Men’s Basketball
Washington State	Chris Jackson, Football
	Anna Rodgers, Women’s Track & Field

Pac-12 Impact is the social outreach initiative of the Pac-12 Conference. In the pioneering spirit of the West Coast, the Pac-12 is committed to using the power of sport to promote a culture of diversity and inclusion. The Pac-12 is spreading the message of inclusion, celebrating diversity, standing strong against bullying, and fostering fairness and good sportsmanship. Learn more about the initiative at Pac-12.com/impact.