Skip to content

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.

Marcus was in his rookie NBA season when the league suspended play in March 2020. The suspension brought him home for Rochelle’s birth.

Rochelle was the fourth documented generation of the Washington family 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.

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 Russell gave her daughter Diana the middle name Rochelle.
  • Diana gave her son Marcus Levi Washington III the middle name Levi in memory of her brother.
  • Marcus and Keisha named their daughter Rochelle.

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

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.

Washington and Russell Families

Rochelle connected the Washington and Russell family lines through her father. Her name preserved the memory of her paternal great-grandmother and the Russell family’s history with Levi.

Memorable Quotes

No verified exact quotation is currently available.

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