Jason Henshaw is in his second season as an assistant coach for the University of Rochester football program. An All-America defensive lineman at NCAA Division II Kutztown University, he served as captain in his senior season and helped lead the team to back-to-back NCAA appearances in 2010 and 2011. Henshaw spent six years as defensive line coach and junior varsity head coach at Widener University, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2014 NCAA Division III Football Championship.

The UAA “Conversations About Race and Racism” series seeks to lift the voices of people of color and recognize the challenges faced in both athletics and academics at the collegiate level. By sharing personal stories, we hope to elevate the conversation about race to raise awareness and bring about change.

Culture Change

“Growing up in a diverse area (West Chester, Pa.), I was exposed to a lot of different races, nationalities, and religions,” Henshaw described. “Then I got to Kutztown and it was a mix of Black kids who had not been in school with white kids and rural white kids who had not been in school with Black kids. That was upsetting and a wake-up call that people’s experiences were so different from mine.”

He saw the program make important adjustments quickly. “Teammates would say harsh things, but that behavior was weeded out. I credit the coaches for making it a more inclusive environment,” he explained. “We started to win a lot of football games and those experiences were great. It was powerful to see how a program can transform and how great things can be when people understand and can empathize.”

The relationships he built then have remained strong over time. “Even now, 10 years later, we still talk to each other. Football has granted me a lot of things because I interact with people who did not have the same interests as me. The sport integrates a lot of different people and backgrounds to work together as one,” he remarked. “As coaches, we are leaders of young men. I have to think not only as a coach, but also as a Black man. We need to make sure we are there for other young men of color so they feel supported when there are things going on in the world like there are now.”

READ JASON'S FULL STORY: