Two pioneers of UNC athletics were honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference Wednesday, receiving the conference’s inaugural UNITE Award.

Edwin Okoroma ’65 of the men’s soccer team and Ophelia Speight ’74 of the women’s fencing team were honored for being the university’s first-ever male and female student athletes of color.

Okoroma was the first student-athlete of color to ever compete at UNC. After graduating, he moved to Washington, D.C. and became a physician. Speight graduated from Carolina with a degree in political science and international politics. She now resides in Wilson, N.C.

The UNITE Award honors individuals within the conference who have made positive impacts in the areas of racial and social justice. The first round of awards honored the first male and female student-athletes of color at each ACC member school.

The award is sponsored by the ACC’s Committee for Racial and Social Justice, which was created in June 2020. The award will be given annually to one male and female student-athlete at each member institution who helps create lasting change with regards to racial and social equity.

Okoroma and Speight, as well as every other winner of the UNITE Award, will be honored by their schools during the academic year.

 

Featured image via the Atlantic Coast Conference


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