Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles' Maxwell: Teachers showed us old slave auction sites on field trips

Published Jun. 23, 2015 1:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

As a native of North Charleston, South Carolina, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell was understandably shaken by the tragic church shooting that shocked the nation last week.

After finishing up the Eagles' mini-camp last week, Maxwell traveled home to spend time with his family in the community. Maxwell recently spoke to MMQB's Robert Klemko about the tragedy:

"At first you feel shock. Anger. Disgust. Then the next question is, what do we do about it?" Maxwell said. "How do we stop things like this from happening?"

"I remember just about every car had the Confederate flag when I was young. It’s something they’re proud of. If those things are still flying, how far have we really come? They want to say, it’s not hate, it’s heritage. But hate is the most important part of that heritage."

"Teachers took us down there and showed us the old slave auction site," he says. "They would say, 'This is where your ancestors were sold.' That would be a field trip. It’s good to educate, but we were too young. It gave us an inferiority complex. It’s always good to know where you came from, but we don’t know where we came from. King Street is not where we came from."

It's not all sad news for Maxwell. The Eagles' $63-million dollar man plans to use his fame and standing as a tool to enact change.

"It has taken me until this year and last year to really understand I have a voice with the position I'm in," Maxwell said to Rana Cash of Sporting News. "I'm in a leadership position. Everybody doesn't have to talk, but if you have an opinion, you should share it.

"I don't have the answers," he said. "We have to spread love. As black people, start loving each other. I'm not talking about a movement or black power. I'm talking about just treating everyone like you want to be treated and respecting each other."

(h/t MMQB, Sporting News)

Photo Credit: Getty Images