College Place, Wash. - Our Black History Month series continues with women's basketball team manager,
Fred Goodman. Goodman is in his second season with the program.
Q: How has Black History Month affected you over the years? How do you view it today compared to in your earlier years?
Goodman: Back when I was a kid, I felt really special and singled out because I was always the only black kid in my classes. It felt awesome to focus on people that looked at me. I got older, however, and was still the only black kid in my classes, and we were still talking the about the same people and not expanding our knowledge on black history. I feel that the curriculum has become ineffective.
It is important to learn about George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman, Fredrick Douglas, Rosa Parks, and people like that, but people need more. There is no reason that a 3rd grader should be learning about the same people as a 12th grader or even an 8th grader. As children get older, they should learn about more and more important black figures and not just the same ones repeatedly year after year.
Q: Who are some black leaders you look up to and why?
Goodman: Family has always been the most important thing to me. My mother constantly reminded me that even though I am just as good as my white counterparts that I have to work to be twice as good because there is going to be someone that views me differently and expects different things from me specifically because I am black.
I look to my aunts and uncles as success stories. Doctors, CEO's, government officials – the list goes on and on of what the people who are closest to me have achieved. This success is my inspiration and where I find my identity. Black people are the most diverse group globally, science proves this, and there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. There are glass ceilings that we will continuously have to break through, so it is up to us to lock arm in arm for the betterment of our brothers and sisters.
I look up to people like Lebron James who have done so much for the black community – from getting people registered to vote to opening up his own school and sending kids to college.
I look up to Marcus Rashford of Manchester United, who, even though he is just 23 years old, has done as much for impoverished children in the UK as British politicians have done.
I look up to Serena Williams, who has broken barriers not only for black women but women in general, giving them a newfound respect in the sports world from their male counterparts.
I look up to Barack Obama, who regardless of what you think about him, showed that it does not matter a black man can rise to the highest office of leadership in a place where people will hate and judge you for the color of your skin.
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