“If you can see her, you can be her.”
I had the pleasure of meeting my hometown hero, A’ja Wilson, at her book signing for her first book Dear Black Girls. It was a beautiful event held in our hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, in conversation with Allisha Gray, another fellow South Carolinian and legendary WNBA player.
As a refresher, let me tell you just a few things A’ja’s accomplished:
Helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in 2017
In 2018, she won a record third straight SEC Player of the Year award, leading South Carolina to a record fourth straight SEC Tournament Championship
Is the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina women’s basketball history
In the 2018 WNBA draft, she was drafted first overall by the Aces.
Won her 1st WNBA MVP in 2020
Won her first Olympic Gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
In 2022, she helped lead the Aces to their first title in franchise history,
Did this again the next year (2023) and earned Finals MVP.
Became the Aces’ all time leading scorer in franchise history in 2024
She is also a New York Times best-selling author.
— and most recently, she’s won a gold medal in USA Women’s Basketball in the 2024 Olympics.
OH!! And there is a statue of her on the University of South Carolina Campus.
Although I am not at all talented in basketball, I saw a lot of myself in A’ja. Growing up in the same hometown, I recognized some of the places she talked about in her book, and even went through the same experiences. I think, growing up as a Black girl in the South, you have a lot of shared experiences – such as being called too Black, too white, too proper, too country, and unfortunately, I think a lot of Black girls have that one jarring moment where you realize you are different than your white friends. A’ja’s moment, as she recalls in her novel, is when she was invited to her friend’s birthday party and was asked to sleep outside because her father “didn’t like Black people.” Just like me, she experiences anxiety and imposter syndrome, and the occasional wardrobe malfunction.
But, even in the positive things, I saw myself in her – A’Ja talks about how she wouldn’t be where she is today without her support system – hers being her parents, her grandmother, and Coach Dawn Staley. She worked really hard to get where she is today, and credits God and love for her major success.
I even had the pleasure of asking her about her own writing process, which is my favorite thing to ask fellow authors about!
Even though I’m 5 years older than A’Ja, Dear Black Girls is the book I wish I had when I was a teen or preteen. Each chapter is an essay about her personal experiences and advice. The chapters encourage, but don’t sugarcoat. She talks in depth about the racism and double standards she’s experienced as a Black woman. How, the Lady Gamecocks and other former- SEC players such as Angel Reese, were deemed aggressive for doing the same things that their White counterparts were deemed competitive for. She suggests using the adversity you face for fertilizer to come back even stronger.
She talks about how it’s okay to be excited and vulnerable, and how you don’t have to pretend to be too cool for something you love.
She talks about how important it was to have thee Dawn Staley as her coach, someone who saw her potential and helped her bring it out. How her late Grandmother Hattie Wade Rakes, helped her build patience, confidence, and resiliency.
Without spoiling too much, A’Ja closes her novel saying the best secret she could receive is the gift of an I Love You, which is also hands out freely in the book to the reader.
This book is a short, but impactful and inspiring read that I highly recommend. A’Ja shows us that, despite having a LEGENDARY list of accolades, we are all just like her, or with love, God, hard work, and a great support system, we can be.
