Memories of Selma | Daeze Alaeze: In Her Own Words

Program Director of Student-Athlete Career Development, Daeze Alaeze, shares her experience and cultural perspectives from the Big Life Series trip to Selma, Ala.

The "Big Life Series" is a cornerstone initiative led by the Big Ten Equality Coalition. It highlights the conference's ongoing commitment to examining and searching for answers to our country's racial, social, religious, and cultural challenges. 

Last year's event featured participants from several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Florida A&M University, Howard University, and North Carolina A&T University. The centerpiece of the Alabama experience was the march across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, the site of the 1965 Bloody Sunday attack.

Eye-opening is the word that I would use to describe my experience with the Big Life Series trip last summer to Selma, Ala. This experience provided me with many perspectives as I reflect on my experience as a first-generation Nigerian American during Black History Month. 

My family is from Rivers State, Nigeria, and my parents immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s, just 20 years after Nigeria gained its independence, to pursue better opportunities and education.

I visited multiple museums that shed light on the history of Africans and African Americans, heard from historic leaders in historic landmarks about their lived experiences, and reenacted the infamous march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the trip. 

An impactful self-paced museum that I visited was the Legacy Museum. In this museum, I was able to learn more about the Atlantic Slave Trade and the impact it had on Nigeria. I learned about the hubs through which slave traders took enslaved Nigerians in the U.S., U.K., and other regions - which still to this day are major hubs where Nigerians continue to have a high population.

Nigeria gained its independence on Oct. 1, 1960, and it's a day that I celebrate with even more pride after learning more about the history of my family origin. I feel the importance of not only knowing the history of African Americans in the U.S. but that of Nigeria as well. 

Reflecting on my experience last summer, I am thankful for the Big Ten Life Series for allowing me to interact, engage, and expand my knowledge of Nigerian history and culture through an impactful and experiential learning opportunity. It has provided a different perspective on the life that I currently live.

I was fortunate enough to share this experience with four of our University of Maryland Student-Athletes: Zoe Huang (Volleyball), Laila Ivey (Volleyball), Therese 'Reese' Delp (Field Hockey), and Ashley Germain (Women's Track & Field). 

If you want to learn more about the student-athlete experience on the trip, please check out their article written after the visit here. 

This is an experience that I believe would change the life of any person, not just that of African American descent. If you are a true seeker of education and different perspectives and looking to expand your knowledge in an immersed space, this trip is for you. The Big Life Series is taking place again this year on July 12-14, where we will be visiting Selma, Ala., once again.