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 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.
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