Beginning with Washington University track student-athlete Caira-Watson Haynes on Aug. 18, 2020 and finishing with NYU head softball coach Now-Allah James on Apr. 8, 2021, the University Athletic Association ran 65 stories in its “UAA Conversations About Race and Racism” series.
The launch of the series was announced by UAA Executive Vice President Dick Rasmussen on June 19, 2020 with the focus on sharing the stories of those who navigate society, educational institutions, and athletics as people of color. “Stories, personal stories, are powerful. They have the ability to touch us to act — in public and more importantly, in our personal lives — as we interact with those we know and those ‘others’ whom we don’t know,” he stated.
The UAA revealed on Aug. 11, 2020 that the series would begin the following week with a clear mission: “The purpose of the series is to lift the voices of people of color and the challenges faced in both academics and athletics at the collegiate level. By sharing personal stories, we hope to elevate the conversation about race to raise awareness and to bring about change. The participants include current and former student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and administrators.”
A series of open-ended conversations were developed by UAA Sports Information Director and series author Timothy Farrell along with the UAA Black History Committee, which includes current and former Association student-athletes. Watson-Haynes and then professional basketball player (now Emory University men’s basketball assistant coach) Gebereal Baitey were instrumental in developing and vetting the questions before the series began. Former NYU men’s basketball student-athlete Jule Brown created a logo for the series as well as for UAA’s celebration of Black History Month, a period when the series ran three times per week.
Each participant was given three options to share their story: to write their own piece, to answer the questions via email, or to have a Zoom/phone call with Farrell. Brandeis University head women’s and men’s tennis coach Pauri Pandian, former Emory baseball student-athlete NJ Kim, former Carnegie Mellon women’s track and field student-athlete Debi Bhanja, former University of Chicago men’s tennis student-athlete Max Hawkins, and NYU Assistant Athletic Director Curtis Spence submitted their own written stories.
The remaining 60 stories were written by Farrell with each story in the series edited by UAA Assistant Director for Operations & Member Services Melissa Curtis. Each participant was sent a draft of their story to review and was then sent the final draft with photos, submitted by contributing members of the series and the sports information staffs of each institution, prior to the official release. “It was critical in a series whose foundation was to lift the voices of people of color that the stories reflected their words and stories accurately. We provided the platform, but what each person chose to share was entirely up to them. We are thankful to all those who took the time to collaborate on this project about such an important issue,” Farrell remarked.
Every UAA institution was represented by at least six stories. The series featured 21 current student-athletes, 20 former student-athletes, 16 head and assistant coaches, five administrators, and three athletic trainers. The featured administrators were DePauw University President and former WashU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori S. White, Emory Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Enku Gelaye, Brandeis Director of Athletics Lauren Haynie, NYU Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Athletics Stuart Robinson, and Spence.