Penn State football coach James Franklin, former Nittany Lions to participate in Movement for the Moment

Former Penn State football manager Keith Oliphant knew he wanted to bring more attention to the Black Lives Matter movement, while also promoting fitness. With the help of former Nittany Lions-turned-NFL players, Penn State head coach James Franklin and other community leaders, Oliphant believed he could do just that with Movement for the Moment on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a panel and live workout with professional athletes, educators and community leaders, such as Coach Franklin,” Oliphant said. “I just thought it was a good way to get people involved, come together — especially when we are social distancing — to move the Black Lives Matter movement forward.”

The two-hour, two-part event, will take place from 3-5 p.m. Sunday. The first half will be a livestream panel discussion, and the second will be a guided, no-equipment workout led by professional athletes.

Initially, Oliphant, founder of Chicago-based Movement for the Moment and a 2018 Penn State grad, wanted to solely do a guided, virtual workout with NFL players.

“I realized that wasn’t enough,” Oliphant said. “That wasn’t going to drive the message that I really wanted to get across. My team and I were very strategic on the individuals selected to be on the panel just because ... we only have an hour. Truthfully, an hour is not enough to talk about these issues. We wanted to have panelists that we thought were a good fit to really drive the conversation.”

In addition to Franklin, former Penn Staters participating in the event include Detroit Lions linebacker Jason Cabinda, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Trace McSorley, New York Giants cornerback Grant Haley and Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader Hayley Simpson. Former Penn State lacrosse and current Archers standout Grant Ament also announced Saturday that he’d be taking part in the conversation.

Oliphant’s main motivation behind organizing the event, he said, was to help educate people about what Black Lives Matter means, and to clear up misconceptions. He also wanted to provide an opportunity to expose more people to the issues facing Black Americans, such as systemic racism, police brutality, educational and professional barriers.

“We understand that people are going to join this conversation and are coming in from different journeys,” Oliphant said. “Some people have experienced racism and some people might not think it exists.”

For those who can’t make the event on Sunday, Movement for the Moment intends to hold similar events in the future.

To register for the event, donate to support youth programs in Chicago or to find out more information, visit https://movementforthemovement.com.

“We’re really hoping we create a common understanding of what the Black Lives Matter movement is and how we can all come together to create a better future going forward,” Oliphant said.

This story was originally published July 25, 2020 at 3:36 PM.