Stronger Than Hate: Trojan student-athletes recall life-altering trips to historic sites

For most student-athletes, summer is an important time for recovery, relaxation and preparation for the upcoming school year and athletic season. But for a select group of USC student-athletes, this past summer was also a time for education, growth and confronting uncomfortable truths.

While some were walking across campus to the gym last summer, USC student-athletes were walking in the footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists of the Civil Rights Movement across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. While other collegiate athletes were sitting down with their nutritionists and strength coaches at the team facilities, some Trojans were speaking with Holocaust survivors in Berlin.

“I have recognized that a lot of people are way too comfortable watching other groups be uncomfortable,” said Jordan Washington, a junior on the USC track and field team. “As people, we don’t do enough — we aren’t mad enough about certain situations that happen throughout the world, and that was seen through the Holocaust.”

Washington was part of a panel of Trojan student-athletes who shared their experiences at the Founders Room in Galen Center as part of “Stronger Than Hate: Student Athletes as Agents of Change,” a presentation and discussion of their recent visits to historical sites of the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement.

USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History and Education sponsored the trip to Germany as part of its annual Leadership Summit, sending USC student-athletes to witness historical sites firsthand and to connect with Holocaust specialists and academics.

“When we were established, we made a double promise to those who shared their story, to keep their memories safe forever and to use them to cultivate a world where the Holocaust could not happen again,” said Catherine Clark, senior director of programs at USC Shoah Foundation.

The Big Ten Conference sponsored journeys to Selma as part of its “Big Life Series.” Trojans also talked about trips to Portland, Ore., for the Athlete Activism Summit for LGBTQ+ athletes across the nation, and the Black Student Athlete Summit in Chicago.

Though the experiences were thousands of miles apart and sponsored by different groups, the goal of the visits was the same: to empower and inspire student-athletes to be confident in opposing all forms of hate and bigotry, and to share their experiences with the rest of the USC campus community.

“As leaders, we have to continue to learn. There’s no growth if you’re not learning,” Washington said.

Whether they traveled to the American South, Pacific Northwest, Chicago or Germany, students said they shared a deeper understanding of their role in creating a more just and humane world. For USC President Beong-Soo Kim, students’ willingness to not only educate themselves further on these atrocities but also engage in a discussion with their peers is crucial to creating positive change and uplifting the next generation of leaders.

“The campus looks up to you as role models, and what’s partly so special about this program is that it not only gives you a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it actually helps teach you what the meaning of leadership is — what the meaning of moral courage is,” Kim said. “Tonight, we’re here to recognize the responsibility we all share, to carry ourselves with empathy and compassion, to transcend indifference, to make a difference and to be leaders.”

Stronger Than Hate: Marching in their footsteps

Wednesday’s panel discussion featured a video from the Big Ten’s “Big Life Series” featuring former USC track athlete Di’Niko Bates, who talked about his experience in Selma and his deeper appreciation for using his voice.

“I think it’s really important as young individuals who are rising to be the leaders of this world to be proactive and really take a stand and understand what’s going on,” said Bates, who is now a law student at UCLA.

Many of the student-athletes on the Selma trip also attended the Black Student Athlete Summit in Chicago. Former USC rower Raquel Bell said that the summit allowed her to connect with like-minded people and revealed how many Black student-athletes are committed to creating positive change.

“I realized that I’m part of a way bigger community,” Bell said. “We tapped into Black student-athletes from across the nation, and I realized that not only are we killing it on the field, we’re also killing it off the field.”

Mentorship and creating safe spaces

This year’s Stronger Than Hate event also featured students’ reflections on the Athlete Activism Summit in Portland. Maggie Ramsay, a senior on the women’s lacrosse team, has attended the summit twice in her collegiate career.

“What has kept me going back is the amount of community and learning that is done on these summits,” Ramsay said. “I think it’s really rare to be in a space with that many people at once with no judgment.”

Ramsay originally attended the event to help create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ collegiate athletes. She now also sees the summit as an opportunity to network and grow with others across the community.

“It’s easy to get along really well with everyone, and then learn from so many experts, people who have played at the collegiate level and professional level, people who are allies and people who are part of the community themselves,” Ramsay said.

Conversations with survivors: Stronger Than Hate

Wednesday’s event also featured a video from the student-athletes’ trip to Berlin to visit historical sites from the Holocaust. For some, like Trojan beach volleyball player Macy Bolyard, it was hard to hold back tears.

“Just watching that video kind of made me emotional again — just imagine the people that experienced that,” Bolyard said. “There’s only so much that can be learned in the classroom.”

Others, like USC football player Garrett Pomerantz, echoed Bolyard’s thoughts about learning from experience.

“We need to directly engage with history, rather than just silently acknowledging it,” Pomerantz said. “It just reaffirms the fact that we all have the responsibility to stand up to hate.”