Sunni and Lisa are joined by Maya Washington who talks about her book THROUGH THE BANKSOF THE RED CEDAR:My Father and the Team that Changed the Game.
Maya Washington is the award-winning Writer/Director and Producer of Through the Banks of the Red Cedar and author of the memoir by the same name. Maya’s multi-media work has garnered fellowships and/or awards from Jerome Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Minnesota Film and Television, and others. She is a 2019 Commercial Directors Diversity Program finalist and workshop participant, and a 2019 McKnight Fellow in Media Arts. In 2021 she teamed up with Committee Films as a guest director for the Heidnik episode of the Fox series The Killer Next Door, and two upcoming episodes of History Channel’s new show, I Was There, which will debut in 2022. Her award winning film CLEAR, about a woman connecting with her teenage daughter after a 16-year prison sentence for a crime she didn’t commit, is streaming on Argo and KweliTV. Her award-winning narrative film, White Space (starring ABC Family Switched at Birth’s Ryan Lane) aired on network television as a selection of African American Short Films and is streaming on KweliTV. Maya began her creative career as a dancer turned musical theatre actor in the Twin Cities vibrant theatre community as a child performer. While at USC, she studied acting, directing, film and dramatic writing, which allowed her to explore her passion for storytelling in a variety of mediums, later pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Hamline University. Her background on stage/camera and behind the scenes has given her the opportunity to work on everything from live theatre, commercials and print ads, to web series, films and television, and regularly publishes creative writing in esteemed literary journals and reviews. She gives back to the next generation as a speaker and workshop presenter, focusing on the development of youth, arts, and education. As the Creative Director of Running Water Entertainment, LLC, Maya is dedicated to projects that have a sense of “purpose” in the world, selecting stories that illuminate some aspect of the human experience that is untold, rarely seen, or might benefit from new approaches to issues of Diversity & Inclusion, primarily in America. Her projects have had a global reach, including Toronto, Budapest, Hong Kong, Berlin, and Rome.
Book Description
A warm and invigorating memoir about a daughter’s love for her father and her appreciation for how he and others changed the game of football forever.
Gene Washington’s football career ended long before his daughter Maya was born. She never saw the legendary powerhouse as anything but her dad. She didn’t yet grasp the impact he’d had on the sport—and on America. To understand his historic role in the integration of college football, witness his influence on generations that followed, and fully appreciate his legacy, Maya had a lot of catching up to do.
Maya retraces her father’s journey from the segregated south to Michigan State during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement and his journey as an NFL pioneer after the 1967 draft. She reflects on how her father’s childhood—and the racism he faced—shaped her upbringing and influenced his expectations of her. She also discovers how unbreakable the emotional bond between teammates can be. But above all, Maya and her father get to know each other. As their own bond deepens, so does Maya’s connection to the sport that changed the trajectory of her father’s life…and hers.