In May of 2020, a cell phone video caught the final moments of George Floyd's life after he was pulled over and murdered by police officers. His death sparked outrage and protests across the nation, initiating a call to action and changes throughout the country.
In the world of collegiate athletics, student-athletes responded by finding ways to make their voices heard by those in power. Schools across the country began forming the Black Student-Athlete Association (BSAA) as a way to provide a safe space for Black student-athletes and other student-athletes of color to come together to speak on their experiences, educate others on social justice issues, the Black student-athlete experience, and Black history.
At Arizona State, the BSAA was working to create this space and begin carrying out its goals, but its efforts to bring people together were largely thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the student-athletes and staff involved with BSAA stayed focused and determined to make their ideas become reality, and they successfully did so by hosting their first Soul Devils event during Black History Month.
The Soul Devils event brought Sun Devil student-athletes and staff together for a night of fellowship and education on the historical importance of soul food in Black culture. The event featured a classic soul food meal, guest speakers, games focused on Black history and served as a coming-out party for the BSAA. Student-athletes from all different sports, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds came dressed to impress in semi-formal, all-black attire and broke bread together at tables decorated with Black heroes and icons.
Guest speakers included Director of Athletics Ray Anderson, Deputy AD Jean Boyd, Associate AD Bill Kennedy, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President Dylan Kingston, who all spoke on the importance of the BSAA and what it meant to them to be a part of the special event. The BSAA also invited Miss June, owner of Loyalty Restaurant and Lounge, who catered the soul food meal, to deliver a wonderful speech on the history of soul food and how it is meant to bring people together.
Alonzo Jones, who is the Associate AD of Inclusion and Championship Life, delivered an impactful speech focusing specifically on Black history at Arizona State and why the event was so critical for current Sun Devils.
"The title of the organization, the month that it represents, and the fact that it was student-led brought people out in a way that was empowering," said Jones.
"It's important, as an athletic program, that we have high levels of support for cultural activities and events. That we have space and opportunities for students to initiate what they see as priorities. It's a way for the department to share their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion."
Without the work of the student-athletes and staff involved with BSAA, the Soul Devils event would not have made the splash that it did. It was the culmination of hard work and planning from student-athletes Izzy Redmond, Alina Miller, Jalen Drayden, and Jordan Clark, who serve as the executive board members of the BSAA. They, along with a planning committee that featured Keira Christie-Galloway, and staff members Deana Garner-Smith, Markisha Farrier, and Camryn Williams, put this event together over the course of the last few months.
Vice President of BSAA, Izzy Redmond, said that this event was about sharing Black history with others and making the presence of the BSAA known for other student-athletes.
"I think our biggest why was that this is something really important to us, in terms of Black history, and sharing that with our fellow student-athletes," said Redmond. "We kind of wanted to create a space where we could get everyone involved with BSAA, that's something that we haven't been able to do yet, and extending that out to a wider audience and bringing that awareness for Black History Month to other people was the biggest part for us."
Alina Miller serves as the Community Engagement Chair for BSAA. She and Redmond spearheaded a lot of the groundwork for Soul Devils and for her, it was more than worth it. Miller and Redmond focused heavily on the promotion and outreach. They put together two presentations; one on what was in the soul food meals and another on impactful Black Sun Devil athletes of the past, to share during the event. They also helped organize the catering service, decorated the tables with Black figures for people to read about, and ran the competitive Kahoot trivia game at the end of the night.
"I thought the event went really well," said Miller. "It was great to not only educate people but to bring student-athletes together. I had so much fun listening to the speakers in the beginning and how they felt about the event, that was my favorite part."
To say that the event was a success would be an understatement. The BSAA achieved its goal of bringing people together and creating a space to share experiences while also providing education on Black history. Markisha Farrier, Academic Coach in the Office of Student-Athlete Development and staff advisor for the BSAA, says that this event meant everything to her.
"Being a black female in this office, it's an honor to be able to connect with the student-athletes on this level, to be able to have those conversations and plan an event like this, and be a voice for them," said Farrier. "It was about the students seeing their event come to life. I thought it went incredible, everything was on point."
Moving forward, the BSAA hopes to continue to grow and make events like Soul Devils an annual, signature event. Increasing membership among student-athletes and finding allies across campus is one of their biggest goals this year. You can stay up to date with the BSAA and learn more about them by following their Instagram page, @sundevilbsaa.
In the world of collegiate athletics, student-athletes responded by finding ways to make their voices heard by those in power. Schools across the country began forming the Black Student-Athlete Association (BSAA) as a way to provide a safe space for Black student-athletes and other student-athletes of color to come together to speak on their experiences, educate others on social justice issues, the Black student-athlete experience, and Black history.
At Arizona State, the BSAA was working to create this space and begin carrying out its goals, but its efforts to bring people together were largely thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the student-athletes and staff involved with BSAA stayed focused and determined to make their ideas become reality, and they successfully did so by hosting their first Soul Devils event during Black History Month.
The Soul Devils event brought Sun Devil student-athletes and staff together for a night of fellowship and education on the historical importance of soul food in Black culture. The event featured a classic soul food meal, guest speakers, games focused on Black history and served as a coming-out party for the BSAA. Student-athletes from all different sports, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds came dressed to impress in semi-formal, all-black attire and broke bread together at tables decorated with Black heroes and icons.
Guest speakers included Director of Athletics Ray Anderson, Deputy AD Jean Boyd, Associate AD Bill Kennedy, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President Dylan Kingston, who all spoke on the importance of the BSAA and what it meant to them to be a part of the special event. The BSAA also invited Miss June, owner of Loyalty Restaurant and Lounge, who catered the soul food meal, to deliver a wonderful speech on the history of soul food and how it is meant to bring people together.
Alonzo Jones, who is the Associate AD of Inclusion and Championship Life, delivered an impactful speech focusing specifically on Black history at Arizona State and why the event was so critical for current Sun Devils.
"The title of the organization, the month that it represents, and the fact that it was student-led brought people out in a way that was empowering," said Jones.
"It's important, as an athletic program, that we have high levels of support for cultural activities and events. That we have space and opportunities for students to initiate what they see as priorities. It's a way for the department to share their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion."
Without the work of the student-athletes and staff involved with BSAA, the Soul Devils event would not have made the splash that it did. It was the culmination of hard work and planning from student-athletes Izzy Redmond, Alina Miller, Jalen Drayden, and Jordan Clark, who serve as the executive board members of the BSAA. They, along with a planning committee that featured Keira Christie-Galloway, and staff members Deana Garner-Smith, Markisha Farrier, and Camryn Williams, put this event together over the course of the last few months.
Vice President of BSAA, Izzy Redmond, said that this event was about sharing Black history with others and making the presence of the BSAA known for other student-athletes.
"I think our biggest why was that this is something really important to us, in terms of Black history, and sharing that with our fellow student-athletes," said Redmond. "We kind of wanted to create a space where we could get everyone involved with BSAA, that's something that we haven't been able to do yet, and extending that out to a wider audience and bringing that awareness for Black History Month to other people was the biggest part for us."
Alina Miller serves as the Community Engagement Chair for BSAA. She and Redmond spearheaded a lot of the groundwork for Soul Devils and for her, it was more than worth it. Miller and Redmond focused heavily on the promotion and outreach. They put together two presentations; one on what was in the soul food meals and another on impactful Black Sun Devil athletes of the past, to share during the event. They also helped organize the catering service, decorated the tables with Black figures for people to read about, and ran the competitive Kahoot trivia game at the end of the night.
"I thought the event went really well," said Miller. "It was great to not only educate people but to bring student-athletes together. I had so much fun listening to the speakers in the beginning and how they felt about the event, that was my favorite part."
To say that the event was a success would be an understatement. The BSAA achieved its goal of bringing people together and creating a space to share experiences while also providing education on Black history. Markisha Farrier, Academic Coach in the Office of Student-Athlete Development and staff advisor for the BSAA, says that this event meant everything to her.
"Being a black female in this office, it's an honor to be able to connect with the student-athletes on this level, to be able to have those conversations and plan an event like this, and be a voice for them," said Farrier. "It was about the students seeing their event come to life. I thought it went incredible, everything was on point."
Moving forward, the BSAA hopes to continue to grow and make events like Soul Devils an annual, signature event. Increasing membership among student-athletes and finding allies across campus is one of their biggest goals this year. You can stay up to date with the BSAA and learn more about them by following their Instagram page, @sundevilbsaa.