NORFOLK, Va. – The NSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (NSU SAAC), in conjunction with SAACs from other area universities, will hold the 2020 Unity Walk this Saturday beginning on the campus of Norfolk State University.
 
NSU will be joined by SAAC representatives, student-athletes and athletics administrators from Hampton, Old Dominion, William & Mary, Virginia Wesleyan and Christopher Newport. SAACs from each of those schools have come together to form the 757 Student-Athlete Coalition for Social Change. As the coalition develops strategies and programs to address social justice, racial discrimination, diversity and inclusion in a collective effort, the Unity Walk will serve as the first of those programs.
 
"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 begin gathering at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in front of Wilson Hall on the NSU campus. At 10 a.m., NSU President Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston, Bishop Kim Brown and several others will address the crowd. The march will then proceed to the site of the previously removed Confederate monument in downtown Norfolk. The route will be cordoned off by police from each institution and the city of Norfolk. 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.
 
Everyone who participates is asked to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19.