Big Ten Student-Athletes Make Impactful Visit to Montgomery and Selma

Photo: Kyle Prater

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The third edition of the "Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery" closed Saturday evening with a full slate of programs highlighting the civil rights movement in Alabama.

The day began with a community service project as more 125 student-athletes from all 18 Big Ten schools, including coaches and school and conference administrators, stuffed back-to-school backpacks for a local school. That was followed by speeches from Mayor James Perkins Jr., Lynda Blackmon Lowery and Warren Billy Young at First Baptist Church of Selma, known for its association with the Civil Rights Movement. 

The community service project hit home for one particular student-athlete.

“Being a less fortunate child, I definitely wish I had something going like this from my backyard in Oakland. So just to be in my position (to help out) is always a blessing,” said USC track & field hurdler, Di'Niko Bates.

Attendees then took part in a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the 1965 Bloody Sunday March and enjoyed a traditional southern lunch. The second half of Saturday's schedule included visits to the Civil Rights Memorial Center and the Alabama Archives and History Museum. Community activist Doris Dozier Crenshaw spoke at the Archives and proved once again extremely popular with the audience.

After dinner, the evening closed with a visit to The Legacy Museum, which offered a thought-provoking immersive experience of black history in the United States.

The weekend's event provided perspective and unique insights for all in attendance from across the country.

Said Maryland Head Football Coach Mike Locksley, “We talk about the Big Ten, the best of both worlds, education as well as sports. (It's important) putting the resources into our student athletes to understand this history to be able to take back to their campuses and hopefully make a difference in the lives of their teammates.”