Correspondent Vicki L. Friedman explores the contents of Marian Washington’s latest autobiography
by Vicki L. Friedman
“I grew up on a bus.”
I thought I heard wrong. Marian Washington was recounting her early life on a conference call with Ascend Books. I was inquiring about her background, hoping to co-author her long-awaited autobiography.
“What did you say?”
“I grew up in a bus.”
I spoke to the publisher the following morning to clarify. “It seemed like she said bus,” he confessed. “It could add an interesting twist to the story.”
“FIERCE: My Fight for Nothing Less” was released on Aug. 6 – now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Rally House locations in Lawrence, KS, and many other outlets.
“The insights shared in this book are remarkable,” remarked Dawn Staley, the Naismith Hall-of-Famer, among others who have provided testimonials. Testimonials also come from Tara VanDerveer, Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck, Venus Lacy, Teresa Edwards, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Donna Lopiano, Brenda VanLengen, and Tamecka Dixon.
Lynette Woodard, also a Naismith Hall of Famer, penned the Afterword.
Many may only know Marian Washington as the coach at the University of Kansas for 31 years who won numerous games.
Her autobiography serves as a historical document, narrating the story of the woman who shattered the color barrier in women’s basketball coaching. The Washington Post in 2022 honored her as the Jackie Robinson of women’s basketball coaching, acknowledging her as the first Black woman to coach women’s basketball at a Division I college when she was hired by Kansas in 1973.
One year later, she was tasked with introducing women’s intercollegiate athletics at Kansas in response to the newly established Title IX legislation. In 1974, she, a Black woman in her twenties, found herself in a leadership role within a Midwestern athletic department.
In her own words from “FIERCE”:
Before dismantling the walls of inequality, I had to construct walls. Physical walls had to be erected in Allen Fieldhouse to propel progress. I had to carve out space wherever possible in this building, creating something out of nothing. Can we install a curtain under this staircase to store equipment? Can we add walls and showerheads to this empty corner? Is anyone using this filing cabinet?
“This is the space I require. There’s nothing here. Is there a reason I can’t have this area?”
I made it extremely challenging for someone to deny me.
At that time, the basketball uniforms worn by the female players were handed down to the softball team after the season. Halftime huddles occurred initially in the public women’s bathroom, with Washington trying to be heard over the sounds of flushing toilets.
Washington laid the groundwork for an athletic program that stands as a Division I powerhouse today. There was no women’s track and field team when she arrived. The men’s track team was one of Kansas’ most successful programs. Washington was committed to providing women with an opportunity. When no coach was available in the inaugural year, she assumed the role of Kansas’ first women’s track and field coach. All this while coaching basketball, serving as an athletic director, and raising a young daughter.
It’s no surprise she found herself running a few minutes late to pick up a teenager from Wichita, who took the bus to Lawrence for a recruiting visit. That teenager was Woodard.
Washington was the first Black woman to coach a U.S. women’s basketball team overseas (Jones Cup, 1982) and the first Black coach on an Olympic staff (assistant to VanDerveer, 1996). She advocated for diversity within USA Basketball by ensuring representation of each coaching staff.
“Her efforts led to a policy that ensured every USA Basketball coaching staff included a coach of color,” noted Carol Callan, the women’s national team director, in a letter published in the book.
Washington also became the first female president of the nearly all-male Black Coaches Association. She served two terms.
Embark on a journey through her early chapters to fathom the influences that shaped her perspective. The first in her family to attend college, she was part of the first team to win a national championship at West Chester State in 1969. She and Colleen Bowser became the first two Black women to join a U.S. national team. They were on the verge of the 1972 Olympics when tragedy struck.
Read about this in Chapter X.
Washington’s athletic prowess extended beyond basketball. She competed three times in the Olympic Trials for track and field – excelling as a shot putter and discus thrower, despite lacking formal training in technique.
Delve deeper into her past to uncover the origins of her journey. While there were houses on Bolmar Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Washington didn’t reside in one with her parents, three sisters, and brother.
She grew up in a bus. A bus without amenities like a bathroom or running water, plagued by bedbugs and rats.
Chapter V is aptly named “The Bus.”
In this chapter, Washington reminisces about the luxury of soft carpet under her feet when she visited someone else’s home. For someone who had never experienced it before, carpet was a marvel.
“FIERCE” is a candid and raw memoir, shedding light on a woman who maintained a private persona during her tenure at Kansas.
For the first time, she shares details about becoming pregnant at 13 and subsequently being removed from ninth grade as a result.
At the age of 78, Washington penned this book to provide an accurate account of events from her unique perspective. She aims to educate and intertwine lessons from the pioneers of the past with the present-day game we cherish.
Her honesty is truly inspiring, just like her.
In the words of Staley, “I am grateful that she has shared her story while we can still appreciate it.”
Purchase FIERCE: My Fight for Nothing Less.
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