Matchsticks
An Education in Black and White
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The year was 1961, a year marking the start of the racial unrest that would last throughout the decade. Living in a trailer camp in Maryland with his wife and children, Fred’s future seemed bleak—that is, until he heard a college football coach being interviewed on a local radio show talking about becoming a Physical Education teacher. The coach’s words would inspire him enough to register at Maryland State College, a then all-black college. The thing of it was, Fred Engh was white. He would become the first white student to attend Maryland State, a segregated college. His intention was not to break any racial barriers or make any headlines. He simply wanted a better life for himself and his family as an accredited teacher. What he learned from attending that college however was something he had not expected. Matchsticks: An Education in Black & White is his story.Fred Engh and his non-profit organization, NAYS—the National Alliance for Youth Sports—have positively affected the lives of millions of children throughout the country for decades, but chances are you have never heard of him or his group. What he has tried to do is make organized sports for kids fun. He has done this by training coaches to be fair, avoid playing favorites, bulling players, and stopping fans from getting out of control....
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Engh (Why Johnny Hates Sports), the founder of the National Alliance for Youth Sports, shares the unusual path his life took in this unique if uneven memoir hinging on how he became "the first white student to receive his diploma at an all-Black college in 1961." He'd grown up in Maryland in the 1940s, oblivious to the overt racism endemic among his white friends and family, and by age 26 was living in a trailer park and barely scraping by. The chance to turn things around came after he heard Maryland State College would be offering degrees in physical education. Engh decided to enroll, even after learning that the institution was all-Black. His arrival on campus elicited suspicion, but Engh was embraced almost immediately by Bob Taylor, a Black student, football star, and future NFL player; the pair became close, bonding over their time together on the school's golf team. Meanwhile, Engh's experience as the school's lone white student enabled him to empathize with his Black colleagues who were routinely regarded with disgust or hostility because of their skin color. Sadly, as he notes upfront, his relationship with Taylor was short-lived, and readers are likely to find his explanation as to how it played out unsatisfyingly explored. Despite that, this fascinating fish-out-of-water account provides a unique perspective on race and culture.
