Spartans Part of Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Big Ten Conference today announced that a group comprised of 100 student-athletes, coaches, administrators, conference staff, and other key stakeholders from across the conference participate in the Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery, July 15-17, 2022. The trip is a journey to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, for an immersive and educational experience at a key center of the civil rights movement.

Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Ashley Baker will represent the Spartans along with student-athletes Brooke Bogan (women's track and field), Spencer Brown (football), Maliq Carr (football) and Tre Mosley (football).

The Big Ten Conference initially announced this experience during Black History Month 2022 and is another example of the Big Ten Equality Coalition in action. The group, which will also include student-athletes, coaches, and administrators from the ACC and Pac-12, will participate in a variety of activities including marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the 1965 Bloody Sunday attack.

"We established the Big Life Series to help further prepare our student-athletes to impact the world beyond their athletic careers," said Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren. "Our trip to Selma and Montgomery is a first in a series of trips that our student-athletes, administrators, and members of the Big Ten Equality Coalition will take to inspire a meaningful dialogue about racial, social, religious, and cultural injustices in our nation. Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery will empower our Big Ten Conference family to use their voices to drive change in their respective communities."

The trip will begin Friday night in Montgomery with Sheyann Webb-Christburg, author and eyewitness of the original Bloody Sunday attack, serving as the keynote speaker and a viewing of an episode of the documentary series "Eyes on the Prize." The trip continues Saturday in Selma at the First Baptist Church, where hundreds of students coordinated by the Dallas County Voters League began their days' long journey from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. The trip continues 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.

"This is an incredible opportunity to provide our Spartan student-athletes with an in-person learning experience in one of the most iconic historical sites of the Civil Rights Movement," said Dr. Baker. "My hope is that we are able to embrace the learning, reflect on the experience, and return to our campus inspired to continue the push for change in our local community and beyond."

"I am so happy to be given the opportunity to go to Selma," said Bogan. "I believe that going to see things such as the Edmund Pettus Bridge will really shine light on a new perspective for me. It's one thing to learn about events and another to really be in the environment where said events actually happened. I'm excited for the knowledge and further understanding I'll gain from this trip."

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 visit 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.

Impactful trip this weekend to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama #B1GLife

Thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it @bigten! #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/qMt8JqLeC4
— Mel Tucker (@Coach_mtucker) July 17, 2022

On Saturday evening, trip attendees will hear from EJI Legacy Museum founder and social justice lawyer Bryan Stevenson before forming small groups to discuss their experiences. The small group debrief sessions will be led by campus Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion directors.

All 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 Big Ten Conference will provide tools and opportunities for each attendee to convey their experiences about the trip to their peers.

Big Ten Equality Coalition features student-athletes, coaches, athletic directors, chancellors, presidents, and other members of the Big Ten Conference family from all 14 member institutions. It has a stated goal of seeking tangible ways to combat racism and hate around the world, while also empowering student-athletes to express their rights to free speech and peaceful protest actively and constructively. Following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren wrote an open letter on June 1, 2020, officially announcing the formation of the Equality Coalition and the United States Library of Congress included the letter in its historic collection. An early product of the Equality Coalition was the creation of the Big Ten Voter Registration Initiative. The nonpartisan, conference-wide collaboration encourages student-athletes to take part in the electoral process and is led by a Voter Registration Committee that includes representatives from all 14 Big Ten Conference member institutions. Big Life Series one of the latest examples of the Big Ten Equality Coalition in action.