On December 10, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize for his use of nonviolent protest to bring civil rights to African-Americans.
In response to the racial injustices that continue to plague the United States, the Sun Belt Conference launched its Be The Change initiative in June 2020. The statement referred to three pillars: education of American history including the fight for civil rights, civic engagement around voting, and creating dialog with law enforcement in each community.
On the anniversary of Dr. King's recognition, the Sun Belt Conference is launching its Civil Rights Trail booklet as part of the conference's Be The Change education series. The booklet highlights historic civil rights sites to visit and learn about the history of our country's struggle to create a more perfect union.
The trail includes 45 locations near Sun Belt Conference members' campuses and championship sites, including the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site near Georgia State University and Little Rock Central High School near University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Readers can experience history by walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the way to Troy University.
The Sun Belt Conference encourages student-athletes, coaches, staff, and fans to visit the sites while traveling to sporting events. The booklet can help them to learn more about the Sun Belt's civil rights history and keep conversations about racial inequity alive as we work together to "BE THE CHANGE."
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