Hundreds of people crowded into Maceli’s, 1031 New Hampshire St., on Thursday evening for a Kansas University symposium on race and sports in American culture.

Shawn Alexander, an associate professor of African and African-American studies at KU, moderated the event meant to spark a dialogue about the complex issues of race and sports and also support KU’s Langston Hughes Center, which studies historical and current issues like race and inequality.

“KU is a very sports-centered university, but it’s also a place of higher learning,” Alexander said. “And we want to use sports as an inroad to talk about important issues like race and class and the way those intersect in the collegiate athlete world.”

The event’s keynote speaker, William Rhoden of the New York Times, addressed the crowd, largely on the issue of education.

In particular, Rhoden stressed the importance of knowing our culture’s history as a way of making forward progress.

“I believe the black community is under siege,” he said, before citing prominent black U.S. celebrities, athletes and politicians.

“But that hides the fact that we, our community, are losing ground,” he added. “While a few of us are doing well, a larger number than ever are not doing so well.”

Rhoden’s address was followed by the introduction of the event’s panel of current and former KU athletes: Willie Amison, Tamra Gibson, Rhavean King, Reggie Mitchell, Eric Patterson, Tommie Smith and Darrell Stuckey.

One man asked the panelists whether or not black athletes have a moral obligation to speak up on issues of race. King and Rhoden both agreed they do.

“I think a lot of the time people want to make student athletes one-dimensional,” King said. “And we have to break down that one-dimensional athlete or dumb jock stereotype.”

Several panel members spoke of culture shock in relation to racism. King recalled a Thanksgiving trip home to Memphis, Tenn., and police officers stopping her as she was on a run, training to compete.

“I knew what had happened, but I didn’t know why it happened,” she said.

Along those lines, one audience member asked the panel whether high school coaches are really aware of where they’re sending their athletes after graduation.

Mitchell, who is in his sixth season at KU working as a recruiting coordinator, chipped in. He told the crowd he doesn’t feel high school coaches these days have any hidden agendas.

“I really think nowadays most of the coaches are educated enough that they’re going to try and send their athletes places where there are good people,” he said. “I think they’re going to try and send them to a place where they’re going to be taken care of.”

Although the panel’s question-and-answer session was the shortest portion of the evening, Patterson said he hopes the dialogue spills out into the community.

“We’ve provided the platform to have a dialogue,” he said. “And with a dialogue, you’re more likely to go out there and engage people. That’s the only way to induce change.”