Black student-athletes history of Columbia Athletics

 NEW YORK — Columbia Athletics will highlight its most accomplished Black and African American student-athletes and celebrate its rich history of Black Excellence with an on-going virtual and social media campaign. The #CUBlackExcellence initiative will include social media posts, video and graphic features, and a series of articles on Columbia Athletics' historical Black Trailblazers.

 
"The achievements of our Black student-athletes have been significant in the history of Columbia University," Columbia's Campbell Family Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Peter Pilling said. "We are excited and honored to celebrate the impact that these men and women have made on society and at Columbia both on and off the field."
 
The #CUBlackExcellence initiative begins on Martin Luther King Day (January 18), continues through Black History Month (February), and will be integrated into regular programming going forward.
 

Columbia's #CUBlackExcellence content will be posted on Columbia Athletics' social media channels and will include video interviews, graphics, and/or social media posts.
 
Columbia Athletics will celebrate Black History month with a 17-part #CUTrailblazers series beginning on February 1. The feature articles will focus on Columbia individuals who are trailblazers in their sport or were the first in history to achieve excellence in athletics at Columbia and beyond.

Also on February 1, Columbia will debut a promotional webpage on www.gocolumbialions.com which will showcase the articles, video,
photo galleries, fan modules, promotions and social media content.
 
In December, Columbia Athletics announced the formation of a Diversity, Racial Justice, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The We Roar Together Committee is responsible for leading and developing programs dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusivity through the creation of space for courageous conversations on topics of racial justice and human rights, continuous inclusion and anti-racist training, education, awareness and advocacy, and strengthening our processes for recruitment and retention of under-represented student-athletes, coaches and staff. To read more about this initiative, click here. Additional information on the We Roar Together program can found at this link.