University of Delaware Athletics
Woke! Now What? Student-Athletes Attend Black Student-Athlete Summit
2/11/2021 2:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Women's Lacrosse, Delaware Athletics
From Jan. 6-8, several Delaware student-athletes attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit, a virtual experience hosted by the University of Texas that they described as both educational and empowering.
With the tagline "Woke! Now What?" the summit focused on the steps student-athletes can take to foster change on their campus, offering three days of sessions on a variety of subjects. Two Blue Hens student-athletes were able to attend because of funds raised by the newly-created Diversity & Inclusion Fund.
One session that stood out to Tara Cousins, a freshman guard on Delaware women's basketball, was about Black women living fearlessly.
"They created an environment that was so open and, even though it was virtual, you felt connected to these people," Cousins said. "They basically just open the floor to everybody and were like 'If you want to share your story, if you want to talk about something that you've been through, raise your hand in the chat and we'll pick you.
"So I spoke about my identity as being mixed race. My mom is Black and white, and my dad is Black and Indian," Cousins continued. "Growing up, I was one of the only Black kids in my elementary school. Kids would always want to touch my hair, and I didn't see a problem with it. But as I grew up, I realized this isn't really normal. Just sharing about that, and having everybody reach out after – the chat blew up after every time someone shared. So that one was, I think, the most personal."
Taylor Fields, a senior defender on Delaware women's lacrosse, valued getting to interact with people who have shared experiences.
"It was really cool to see how similar my experiences were to a lot of people across America that are in athletics," Fields said.
Collegiate lacrosse has been a sport played predominantly by white athletes; Fields is one of two Black women on Delaware's squad, and one of three women of color. As she has progressed through her college career, she's grown more comfortable with her identity.
"As a freshman, you don't really feel like you have a place to say anything. But me being one of the only Black people on the team, I just always felt like I had some type of responsibility to speak up about certain things," Fields said. "Because my teammates can either be just naïve, or not really know, or haven't been around people that really look different than them. But that's hard to do when you're fresh on the team, and you don't really know how to navigate it, regardless of race. You don't want to out-speak a senior, just out of respect."
"Now that I'm a senior and I feel a little more confident speaking my mind about things, and having leadership positions on the team, I've been more comfortable doing so," Fields continued. "It's been a lot better to implement diversity in that way, because I feel like I have more of a place to talk."
Both Cousins and Fields are passionate about activism, so they each jumped at the chance to attend this summit when Gino Gradkowski, Delaware's Assistant Director for Student Services Leadership, forwarded them the opportunity.Â
Another popular session was "Why Your Diversity Plan Won't Work," detailing the ways that schools and organizations across the country fall short on their goals with their plans for diversity and inclusion; some are simply a reaction to a crisis instead of a proactive plan, while others are not a priority and fade from relevancy. Fields and Cousins are determined to guide Delaware to a successful culture of diversity.
"I want to meet with administrators and make everybody, regardless of if you're a student-athlete, if you're Black, white, mixed, whatever, feel like there is a true community at the University that is inclusive. I want that to be a message and a real pillar for everybody here," Cousins said. "And I know that's hard, but I do want to work to take those committees to the next level in any way I can."
Overall, the summit was an empowering experience for the Blue Hens as they continue their careers as Black student-athletes.
"It just made me think about what I can do individually as a person at UD," Fields said. "As a student, as an athlete, and how much of an impact I can really make."
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With the tagline "Woke! Now What?" the summit focused on the steps student-athletes can take to foster change on their campus, offering three days of sessions on a variety of subjects. Two Blue Hens student-athletes were able to attend because of funds raised by the newly-created Diversity & Inclusion Fund.
One session that stood out to Tara Cousins, a freshman guard on Delaware women's basketball, was about Black women living fearlessly.
"They created an environment that was so open and, even though it was virtual, you felt connected to these people," Cousins said. "They basically just open the floor to everybody and were like 'If you want to share your story, if you want to talk about something that you've been through, raise your hand in the chat and we'll pick you.
"So I spoke about my identity as being mixed race. My mom is Black and white, and my dad is Black and Indian," Cousins continued. "Growing up, I was one of the only Black kids in my elementary school. Kids would always want to touch my hair, and I didn't see a problem with it. But as I grew up, I realized this isn't really normal. Just sharing about that, and having everybody reach out after – the chat blew up after every time someone shared. So that one was, I think, the most personal."
Taylor Fields, a senior defender on Delaware women's lacrosse, valued getting to interact with people who have shared experiences.
"It was really cool to see how similar my experiences were to a lot of people across America that are in athletics," Fields said.
Collegiate lacrosse has been a sport played predominantly by white athletes; Fields is one of two Black women on Delaware's squad, and one of three women of color. As she has progressed through her college career, she's grown more comfortable with her identity.
"As a freshman, you don't really feel like you have a place to say anything. But me being one of the only Black people on the team, I just always felt like I had some type of responsibility to speak up about certain things," Fields said. "Because my teammates can either be just naïve, or not really know, or haven't been around people that really look different than them. But that's hard to do when you're fresh on the team, and you don't really know how to navigate it, regardless of race. You don't want to out-speak a senior, just out of respect."
"Now that I'm a senior and I feel a little more confident speaking my mind about things, and having leadership positions on the team, I've been more comfortable doing so," Fields continued. "It's been a lot better to implement diversity in that way, because I feel like I have more of a place to talk."
Both Cousins and Fields are passionate about activism, so they each jumped at the chance to attend this summit when Gino Gradkowski, Delaware's Assistant Director for Student Services Leadership, forwarded them the opportunity.Â
Another popular session was "Why Your Diversity Plan Won't Work," detailing the ways that schools and organizations across the country fall short on their goals with their plans for diversity and inclusion; some are simply a reaction to a crisis instead of a proactive plan, while others are not a priority and fade from relevancy. Fields and Cousins are determined to guide Delaware to a successful culture of diversity.
"I want to meet with administrators and make everybody, regardless of if you're a student-athlete, if you're Black, white, mixed, whatever, feel like there is a true community at the University that is inclusive. I want that to be a message and a real pillar for everybody here," Cousins said. "And I know that's hard, but I do want to work to take those committees to the next level in any way I can."
Overall, the summit was an empowering experience for the Blue Hens as they continue their careers as Black student-athletes.
"It just made me think about what I can do individually as a person at UD," Fields said. "As a student, as an athlete, and how much of an impact I can really make."
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