Syracuse University student-athletes are marching tomorrow with a message: Black Lives Matter. The march, meant to empower Black student athletes and educate other non-Black attendees, will begin at 12:15 on SU’s South Campus, and end with press conferences via Zoom at 4:30.
In a statement, Diversity and Inclusion Student-Athlete Board president A.J. Walker said, “For decades, Black students have attended universities as athletes to play the sport they love and/or to be able to pay their college tuition. Being a Black student-athlete comes with many challenges. These include all the basic challenges of a student-athlete (balancing school and sport), plus the racial systems and stereotypes that come with being Black in America…”
Some SU athletes have been advised to not demonstrate in the past. For example, women’s basketball manager Ben Paglia said the team wanted to kneel for the national anthem, but Coach Q (Quentin Hillsman, head coach of the Syracuse women’s basketball team) told them not to take a knee.
Syracuse University administration plans to practice social distancing by having athletes and other attendees walk in small groups on different routes at different times to avoid large crowds. The event is also streaming live on Cuse.com.
