He found few friends by being himself.
“I was trying to prove myself instead of just being myself,” Patterson told The Capital-Journal. “I think it was basically my junior year when I decided I really just needed to be myself instead of trying to fit into a stereotype.”
Now a recent graduate from the high school, Patterson said he reflects back on what eventually became a lonely experience at Seaman, and on how most people’s perceptions of who he was supposed to be, came not from a place of malice, but one of ignorance.
And it’s a similar perception he sees when it comes to discussions of the district’s namesake, Fred Seaman, and his role as an exalted cyclops in the Ku Klux Klan.
Students pressure school district named for KKK member nydailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nydailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Updated: 11:10 PM CST Mar 1, 2021 By Jackson Kurtz For decades in Topeka, rumors about Seaman School District s namesake Fred A. Seaman, have been floating around the community. The first time I heard about it, I was like woah, why isn t this a bigger deal? said Rene Cabrera, a Seaman High School student. But it wasn t until a report by two journalism students at Seaman High School, that proved those rumors to be true. That Fred A. Seaman was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Finding out all this information at once was really shocking, said Madeline Gearhart, who co-wrote the story. The students reporting showed Seaman s involvement with the Klan throughout the 1920s -including him being a top KKK leader. It was definitely shocking, there have been rumors but it was easy to dismiss because the school was integrated, said Tristan Fangman, co-writer. Dr. Shawn Alexander, professor and chair of African-American Studies at University of Kansas says the KKK in the
Community pushes to rename school district named after KKK leader kesq.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kesq.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.