We Asked Our Former History Teachers Why They Didn’t Teach Us Black History but They Were Too Busy Also Coaching Football

Al Fredricks is a father of three and a tenured teacher at Kent High School, but even though school ends at 3 pm, we caught him out on the field at 8:30, right when football practice was winding down. When asked why students learned almost exclusively about white history in his class, he responded: “Put the ball down NOW and go back to the locker room, Matthews! Sorry about that, what did you just ask me?”  After we asked him the question again but louder this time, he said “Oh right, yeah, I actually wanted to approach the principal about it a couple years ago, but my girls on the lacrosse team almost went to state that year so I had a lot on my plate.”  “Oh yeah, I’m also the lacrosse coach. ”