WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will join with other Hampton Roads universities in the 2020 Unity Walk on Saturday. The march will begin on the campus of Norfolk State University.
 
The Tribe joins SAAC representatives, student-athletes and athletics administrators from Norfolk State, Hampton, Old Dominion, Virginia Wesleyan and Christopher Newport. SAACs from each school came together to form the 757 Student-Athlete Coalition for Social Change. The Unity Walk will serve as the first program for the coalition, which is working to develop strategies and programs to address social justice, racial discrimination, diversity and inclusion in a collective effort.
 
"We aim to bring like-minded 757 student-athletes together to build a coalition for social justice," 757 Student-Athlete Coalition for Social Change said in a statement. "We plan to use our platform not only to raise awareness and continue momentum for the fight against racial injustice, but to begin connecting student-athletes from different universities for future action. Our goal is to not only come together, but to also show a unified front of athletes and communities across the Hampton Roads area."
 
Participants will gather at 9:30 a.m. in front of Wilson Hall on the campus of Norfolk State University. At 10 a.m., NSU President Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston, Bishop Kim Brown and several others will address the crowd. The march will follow to the site of the previously removed Confederate monument in downtown Norfolk. Police from each institution and the city of Norfolk will cordon off the route. Several more speakers, including student-athletes, will address the crowd at the end of the march as well.
 
The event is expected to last until 12 p.m. Transportation plans back to the NSU campus from downtown Norfolk are still being finalized.
 
Participants are asked to please wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19.