NEW ORLEANS – In his I have a Dream speech made 57 years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, "Now is the time to rise from the dark . . . to the sunlit path of racial justice." The Sun Belt Conference is providing its student-athletes, coaches, and staff with a path for promoting racial equity through its BE THE CHANGE initiative.

The SBC’s initiative will include educational webinars, visits to sites on the Sun Belt Conference Civil Rights Trail, and BE THE CHANGE emblems to remind each individual that they have the ability to make a difference. Our members will take the day off from athletics activity on Election Day. And leading up to November 3, our members will also compete in a voter registration drive. 
 
“We responded to events last June with a racial equity call to action. Our goal is to help educate our Sun Belt Conference student-athletes, staff and communities as they engage in racial justice issues,’” said Commissioner Keith Gill. “Their participation in our BE THE CHANGE initiative will help them to become civically-minded now as students and throughout their lives following college athletics.”
 
All of these efforts support the Sun Belt Conference’s racial equity call to action made in June. 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.
 
The Sun Belt Conference has partnered with Secure the Ballot to create dashboards to assist student-athletes, coaches, administrators and entire campuses with voter registration, requesting absentee ballots, and confirming registration status.   
 
SAAC members at each institution are competing in registration drives to generate a critical mass of voters. The Secure the Ballot voter registration competition among Sun Belt Conference members began on Wednesday, August 26 and ends on Monday, October 26.

Troy University student-athlete Alexis Garrett, a member of both the NCAA Division I SAAC and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee said that the initiative is a natural fit with athletics. "As student-athletes, we've been given a platform where we can emphasize what we believe is important. We're all learning how to become more engaged with social justice issues and civic engagement, so we're all super passionate about the Sun Belt Conference's voter registration and racial equity initiatives,” said Garrett. “Since the Sun Belt has added an incentive to promote large registration numbers, SA's can use their competitive nature in a positive way. We all really want to make a difference and Be the Change!"