A black fist, dusted with chalk, tape on the thumb, grips a barbell, alluding to the gesture of black power and solidarity in the context of strength training and physical culture.

We at the Stark Center would like to offer our support to those courageous folks currently seeking solutions to the racial injustices which have plagued this nation since its founding. These deep-rooted issues permeate all facets of American life, including public health, as we’ve seen during the current COVID-19 pandemic, but also the realm of sport and physical culture. “You don’t just turn the TV set off when the game is over,” Terry Todd once said in a 2015 interview on the opening of the Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936 exhibit. “Sport is political, has been political and will always be political.” Our library, research center, and gallery spaces have always been and will continue to be a place where students, researchers, and community members may seek out these same topics. We will always invite diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality in the study of physical culture and sport, no matter how difficult the conversation. We stand with the statement written by Charles Martinez, Dean of the College of Education and Richard J. Reddick, Associate Dean for Equity :   We Stand Determined.

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