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Rochelle Washington

Rochelle Washington was the Black American daughter of Marcus Levi Washington III and Keisha Washington. She was born in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Rochelle Russell.

Birth and Family

Rochelle’s parents married in spring 2019. Keisha entered the University of Maryland’s Counseling Psychology PhD program that fall and was in the first year of the program when Rochelle was born. During the pregnancy, she attended classes remotely while pandemic disruptions delayed or changed parts of her supervised clinical training.

Marcus was in his rookie NBA season when the league suspended play in March 2020. The suspension brought him home for Rochelle’s birth, and he was present when she arrived. Hospital visitor restrictions prevented the wider Washington family from gathering around her birth in its usual way.

Rochelle was the first member of the fourth Washington generation when counted from Marcus Levi Washington I. Her paternal grandfather was Marcus Levi Washington II, and her paternal great-grandparents were Marcus I and Denise Washington. Both great-grandparents were alive when she was born.

Name and Ancestry

Rochelle was named after Rochelle Russell, the mother of her paternal grandmother, Diana Rochelle Washington. Rochelle Russell had rejected institutional placement for her disabled son, Levi Russell, and raised him at home.

The family’s memorial-naming sequence continued through several generations:

Rochelle was the fifth generation of the Dorsey–Russell–Washington line when counted from Teddy Dorsey and Evie Dorsey.

Her birth continued the Russell line after the deaths of Levi, Chris, Rochelle Russell, and Diana. The name made that family history part of the next Washington generation rather than ending its remembrance with Diana.

Family and Core Relationships

Marcus Washington III and Keisha Washington

Marcus and Keisha were Rochelle’s parents. Marcus’s interrupted rookie season and Keisha’s doctoral studies formed the immediate circumstances around Rochelle’s birth.

Keisha’s research on relational aggression among Black adolescent girls grew from the abuse she had experienced from Shanice. She continued that work while raising Rochelle and later completed her doctorate.

Washington and Russell Families

For her grandfather Marcus II, Rochelle’s name also recalled Diana’s mother and the Russell family history Diana had brought into their marriage. He still wore his wedding ring from that marriage when his granddaughter was born.

Characters Minor Characters Living Characters Black Characters Black American Characters Washington Family Russell Family