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MR. CAPEHART: Good afternoon, and welcome to Washington Post Live and another in our series, “Race in America: Giving Voice,” co-produced with the “Capehart” podcast. I am Jonathan Capehart, associate editor at The Washington Post. In 2021, WNBA player A’ja Wilson wrote an essay for the Players’ Tribune entitled “Dear Black Girls.” Today it’s a book entitled “Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You.” And joining me now is two-time WNBA champion, two-time MVP for the Las Vegas Aces, and Olympic gold medalist with Team USA, A’ja Wilson.

A'ja, welcome to Washington Post Live.

MS. WILSON: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.

MR. CAPEHART: Well, thank you for being here.

So what was going on in your life at the time that inspired that essay and then led to this book?

MS. WILSON: Yeah. Well, I think covid. Covid was a part of all of our lives, right, and it was a moment where I could really settle into myself and my thoughts.

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And I was just like, "I need to get this off my chest," and I think what really made me want to turn it into a book was because just the interaction I had afterwards. Like, people were coming up to me and was like, "Oh, my God. I read your letter. I felt it. I need more," and I was just like, "Oh, like, whatever. Like, no, it was just me speaking my thoughts. Like, no one wants to hear that all the time." But as time progressed and when we had this book opportunity, I was like, why not?

I felt like us as Black women, we needed something for us. I think we see a lot of things for different race and other genders, but when it comes to the Black woman, it's something that you rarely see. So for me to kind of speak my truth in it and let people see me and see that I'm human was something that I was just so eager to do.

MR. CAPEHART: Mm-hmm. And you start the book by writing, "This is not a playbook. It's not a self-help book. It's not ten ways to become a girl boss or ten ways to become a champion. If anything, it's just the diary of somebody out there who looks like you saying, 'Hey, I feel you.'" And you wrote that a lot throughout the book: "I feel you. I see you." Why was that important to say to Black girls?

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MS. WILSON: Because I feel like that's something that we need to hear, and even parts in the book, I talked about how the Black man gets the conversation about the police and how to be aware of your surroundings. But the Black woman doesn't necessarily have that. I know I didn't. And it's no fault to my parents. It's just something that, you know, it just didn't happen.

So I wanted to make sure that as you read the book, it felt like a diary. It felt like something that was just me writing to you because I think we kind of look for answers a lot, and I don't have them, because I'm still learning. So that was a moment to let me share with my audience that, you know, I'm here, I feel you, and we're going to get through this together.

MR. CAPEHART: Well, let's talk more about the talk, because as you just said, you know, Black girls don't get the talk like Black boys do as a result, and therefore, Black women aren't fully prepared for, quote, "what they're really in for." I think a lot of people know what "the talk" is as a result of Trayvon Martin and other Black men and boys and women and girls who have been killed by police and others. But what would the talk for Black girls be like?

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MS. WILSON: I mean, it would be the same. There would be no separation in my eyes because it's real. I'm a type of person where I hate when things have to hit close to home for everyone to jump and be like, "Oh, my God. We have to change. We have to do something about it."

So for me, the talk would be the same as just be aware of your surroundings, understand that you are a target no matter what, and just put yourself in possibly the safest place that you can be in that moment and understand that no one is truly safe. It can happen to anybody, and so to help prevent that, you kind of have to be aware.

And my mom always tells me, to this day, be aware of your surroundings. It doesn't matter that you're a professional athlete. It doesn't matter that you can dribble basketball well in that city. It's just like, no, you're still a Black woman in America, and you have to survive.

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MR. CAPEHART: You know, when I saw you write about how Black women and girls don't get "the talk," it made me think of--because you write about something else that I'm going to get to, and that is--and this is where you and I have something in common. We grew up going to schools, predominantly White schools.

MS. WILSON: Mm-hmm.

MR. CAPEHART: And as I was thinking about it, I was like, wait, you know what? I got another kind of talk before my first day of school in these White schools. And you say you came to a realization in fourth grade, and you write you weren't just a girl, you were a Black girl, and some people don't like you because of that. Talk more about that.

MS. WILSON: Yes. So like I feel like I was a double minority in that sense, because as a woman and as a young girl, it's hard. Your body is going through different things. You don't know. Your anger, emotions, everything is going on with you, and that's hard to navigate at such a young age, let alone through your adult life. And then on top of that, it was like, okay, so now you're Black, so try to survive this. And it kind of put me in this kind of double bind. I didn't know what to do.

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I didn't know how to feel.

I remember flying my hair off because I wanted it straight because that's what I saw. I didn't see anyone that looked like me. So it was hard for me to really kind of navigate in this world, because I felt like I was living two different personalities, and it just would rip me to shreds at a young age. And now I look back, I understand that, but then I was just living. So it's very, very hard, and I think that's the biggest thing about this book. It's like, no, it's not a playbook, but I'm just letting you know that I've gone through these things as well, and this is how I got through it.

And it's hard. You're going to lose a lot of people. People are going to talk their talk, but at the end of the day, staying true to you, I think it, like, clears up a lot of things.

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MR. CAPEHART: Okay. A'ja, we got to get specific, because you've had this realization that you were just a girl, you were a Black girl, because of a birthday party sleepover that happened in the fourth grade. Now, I could tell everybody what happened, but it's your story.

So what happened at that fourth grade birthday party that put this realization in your head?

MS. WILSON: Yes. Oh, I hate to have to ruin the book, but it was a birthday party of a young--

[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: It was a birthday party of a young friend, and I mean, we were cool. It's innocent. You get everybody at face value. It's a party. It's a party. And as the invitations started going out and that thing started happening and we're moving close to the date, the young girl kind of tells me like, "You're welcome, but you're going to have to sleep outside." And I'm like, "Wait a minute. What do you mean?" And that's when it kind of hit me, and she kind of told me like, "My dad does not rock with Black people," and I'm just like, "What?" And it threw me for a loop, and that right there is something that I just--I then told my parents. And then that's when A'ja had to have the talk.

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MR. CAPEHART: Right. And that is--and that is sort of the second part of the talk that I'm talking about, where you--I'm trying to find my notes here because I think it's your mother who said, "I just wanted to make sure A'ja understood these are things that are going to come up in your life from now on. Don't run from it. Face it head on," and she goes, "We knew that this day would come for her. I'm kind of glad it did happen that early because now she knew. She knew how to handle it." And, you know, it's that part of the conversation, that part of the talk that has nothing to do with knowing your surroundings and your safety and hands on the steering wheel. It's how to--how to handle being the only one--

MS. WILSON: Mm-hmm. Yes.

MR. CAPEHART: --and what happens. You know, my mother--my mother would say to me, "Okay. A couple things. One, if anybody calls you the N word, you let me know right away; and two, don't let them put you in vocational classes because they're always trying to push Black kids out of college prep and into vocational classes." Did you get--did you get those two admonitions?

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[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: Yes, for sure. My mom was like--my parents did not play when it came to that, because they knew they were sending me to a school where there wasn't a lot of people that looked like me. So that guard kind of went up instantly.

But then it also--they kind of let me let it down when I went to club basketball. There was more people that looked like me that I could really truly be myself. So yes, there were some non-negotiables in there, and my parents were like, "Absolutely not. We're sending you here for the perfect education. Get it done, and then you be on your merry way." [Laughs]

MR. CAPEHART: So let's--you write in the book, "Nobody can understand who A'ja Wilson is without knowing about my grandma, Miss Hattie Wade Rakes." During the days of segregation, she wasn't allowed to walk on campus of the University of South Carolina. Oh, did we lose you, A'ja?

MS. WILSON: Uh-oh.

MR. CAPEHART: Oh, there you are.

MS. WILSON: Sorry.

MR. CAPEHART: Can you hear me? No, that's okay.

MS. WILSON: Yes, I can hear you. [Laughs]

MR. CAPEHART: So I was saying that you write in the book how during the days of segregation, your grandmother wasn't allowed to walk on the grounds of the University of South Carolina, that she walked around. And before I get to the significance of that, I want to read from your book, because you write these series of questions to your grandma: "I ask myself all the time, if I would have had the strength to walk a mile in your shoes back when you were my age. How were you able to keep your cool when I can barely keep mine now? How were you able to stomach so much in-your-face hatred and still keep your grace and kindness and patience?" What do you think she would--what would she say to you in response to that? How was she able to keep all that grace?

MS. WILSON: I think it just honestly comes from where the title of the book comes. She was just true to herself and understood that what you saw was what you were going to get, and she didn't let anyone else shake her from that. And she was always someone that stayed 10 toes down through highs and lows, and that's what I think that she gave to me. And I'm so happy that she had stood at a knee and to stay consistent through the highs and lows, always stay there and be yourself and let people see that. And if they like it, great. If they dislike it, I'm sorry. Move along.

And I think that was just a beautiful thing of how she did handle those situations, because I'm pretty sure it's tough. Like, I couldn't even imagine doing it. Like, when I was scolded for my speech, I was like, "Wait. What?" And so I think she just saw it as like planting seeds for my generation, for the next generation to continue to flourish in a world that may not like us, but we can still be very successful in it.

MR. CAPEHART: And you also write about when your grandmother found out about the fourth grade incident, this is where the grace comes in. You wrote that your grandmother said, "Well, you can't be mad at the little girl. She's just repeating what she's seeing and hearing in her house. She's just a child. Don't blame her." I mean, A'ja, I'm like you. I'm like, mm-hmm, right.

MS. WILSON: Right.

[Laughter]

MR. CAPEHART: But you write, "You always saw the good in everybody, grandma."

And I wanted to set this up about Miss Hattie Rakes and the fact that she had to walk around the campus of the University of South Carolina. You--where did my notes go? Oh, here it is. I mean, it's right here in front of my face. But today on the campus of the University of South Carolina that your grandmother was not allowed to walk through, there is a bronze statue of her granddaughter.

MS. WILSON: [Laughs] Yes.

MR. CAPEHART: Talk about the significance. We see the photo of you there with an even larger-than-life statue of you on that campus. Talk about the significance of that and why you entitled your chapter--you dedicated the chapter to your grandmother. You signed it, "Your Dreamer, A'ja."

MS. WILSON: Yes. I mean, that is--it's so real. I think that's the biggest thing. It's so real, and that's why I was so happy that I was able to incorporate that into my speech, because I think it shows people how change can happen. Change is going to come, but it doesn't happen overnight. But we have to continue to plant these seeds for people to grow and water and flourish and heal so we can see things. And I love the statue. It's like still surreal to me because I guess I don't live in South Carolina, so I don't really see it. So when I see it, I'm like, Oh, my God, yes." But it's real. It's something that others can see and want to be A'ja or want to be themselves but on a higher level. And I think it's just a beautiful testimony. It's like my grandmother couldn't even walk on that campus, but here I am. Here I am there, and yes, it's probably for my basketball accolades, but I try to continue to be in the community. I continue to try to be that face that young girls, particularly Black girls, can have a tangible role model to know that they are going to be okay in this world.

And that's why I wrote this book. That's why I wanted to pour my heart out, and that's why I'm the dreamer. I'm there. I'm the one that's living it. She is the one that set it up. She's the one that dreamt it; I'm the one that's living it. And now I have to continue to dream for the next generation to live.

MR. CAPEHART: Mm-hmm.

MS. WILSON: So, I mean, I always kind of look at my legs, and I'm like, oh yes, that statue is cute." But, no, it's so much behind it that I love.

[Laughter]

MR. CAPEHART: Uh-huh. Well, here's the thing. Here's something else that's remarkable about that statue. It almost didn't happen, and I bring this up because you had a unique journey in basketball. Your dad was your coach, and he was the first one to tell you when you started out that your game was, and I quote, "trash."

MS. WILSON: Trash.

[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: Yes.

MR. CAPEHART: How did his coaching help you find your--not only your identity as a basketball player but your acumen as a basketball player?

MS. WILSON: Man, oh, my dad was someone that really honestly put the basketball in my hand, but he was the first coach to tell me the truth. So now when I get through the coaches of the Dawns and the Vickies and my high school coach, it's like, okay, like my own father told me this, so I think I'm good. And I think his honesty really helped me just want to be a better basketball player, just wanted to be--love the game, because he would always say like, "You're not going to get out there and disrespect the game."

I mean, he was my assistant coach, and he didn't play me. Like, he was just like, "I don't care if you're my daughter. You suck." So I think that moment there kind of showed me how I really have to be a great basketball player. I wanted to be great because I wanted to prove to him and my mom that, no, I'm not trash. I'm good at what I do.

[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: But they just--they just stood by me. They let me fail. They let me lose. They let me cry.

But, at the same time, they celebrated my wins, big or small, and I think that's how you get the A'ja that you have today, because I have celebrated, I've lost, I failed, I've learned. But now I've overcome everything, and I'm a champion now. I can say that.

MR. CAPEHART: You know, what I need to know, though, is the "Origin" story, because I'm reading again from your book.

MS. WILSON: [Laughs]

MR. CAPEHART: Page 51, for those of you who have a copy at home. You write, "The literal last thing on my mind was basketball."

MS. WILSON: Right.

MR. CAPEHART: "Basketball? All that sweating? All those guys on TV mean-mugging each other and talking trash and looking so serious? No, no, no. That's not for me. I'm a princess. That's way too much for me. I'm just trying to chill."

So what happened? How did we go from "No, no, no" to two-time WNBA champion and MVP and Olympic gold medalist in basketball?

MS. WILSON: [Laughs] Yeah, I mean, life happens, you know?

[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: No, it's just I saw my teammates win, and I saw my teammates just have so much fun. And I didn't want to be that bench warmer that just always held the trophy and they were like, "Girl, you didn't do anything." So it kind of like wanted--I just got this urgent feel of just working out, and I wanted the basketball, and I wanted to do it. And I love that my parents allowed me to get the want and not force me to want it. And that allowed me to just live and live and grow up with basketball, because I didn't--I still don't like sweating till this day. I'm like, "Please leave me alone.

It's so gross." But it's my livelihood now. So I kind of have to suck it up and do it.

[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: Like, I kind of have to a little bit, right?

MR. CAPEHART: Right.

MS. WILSON: But that's kind of how it came about. I wanted to be great. I wanted to feel the feeling that my teammates had when they were a part of the game and they won, and I didn't want anybody to stop me. I didn't want anyone in my way. And at the same time, I felt like I could merge the two. I can still be a princess and still be an elite basketball player, and once I found that out, oh, I was good. I was like, oh, this is me. Where's the money? Give me the job. I need it now.

[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: So, you know, there's this thing, as I'm sure you well know, imposter syndrome, but you write something that I actually talk about a lot. And I don't think we talk about this as much as we should. You write, "Everyone always talks about the fear of failure, but the thing I never hear anyone talk about is the fear of success." That right there is among the truest things I have read on this day, because people self-sabotage all the time.

[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: Yeah.

MR. CAPEHART: Talk--explain.

MS. WILSON: I mean, you kind of just said it. I feel like sometimes we get into our head before the moment even comes, and it's so sad. And I used to find myself preparing for the ultimate worst. So when it happened, it's like, oh, it's not that bad. But then I'm too busy thinking about it's not that bad that I forget the moment and living in it, and that's how I found myself doing a lot. It's just like--and also when you succeed, a lot of people don't check on you as much because they think you got it all. You don't hear from a lot of people because they think you're busy, and you're kind of by yourself. And when people say it's lonely at the top, it's real, because a lot of people think that you have it all figured out, that you don't need help, that you're good.

And that was the moment where I was screaming for help because I'm like, "I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't like it here." And I was uncomfortable, and it was something that I had to grow into. But if I didn't ask for help, I wouldn't have been able to speak with you today. And so I think it's real, and I think we all kind of go through it because we love the moment. We want the moment so bad. But, boy, the knowing the moment of being great in it, it scares the heck out of you. And that's real.

Like, these big moments, these big lights that we shine under and play under, they're great. I love them. But little does everyone know, I'm in the back probably in a panic mode because I'm just like I don't know how to do it. And the mere fact that I can say that, that's a step towards the best in my career. But it's real. Sometimes you don't want to face that fact and say like, "I'm nervous. I'm scared," and that's okay. But it's something that you grow into. It's something that you go through, and I'm glad that I could say that I kind of--I haven't figured it all out, but I'm slowly starting to figure my way out. [Laughs]

MR. CAPEHART: Well, you know, I want to talk more about the mental health aspects of all this, but, you know, it's one thing to build a moment up and then you're thinking of all the worst-case scenarios and then you succeed and it's not as bad as you thought it was, and therefore your success doesn't feel as great.

MS. WILSON: Yeah. That's right.

MR. CAPEHART: But sometimes, A'ja, there are people who self-sabotage to the point where they don't even get to the moment where they're able to savor the success because they're so afraid of getting what they want that they put the kibosh on it so that they don't have to--they have to deal with it.

MS. WILSON: Mm-hmm.

MR. CAPEHART: What do you say to people or what can you say to people, even though I know this isn't a self-help book? But how do you tell people get out of your own way?

MS. WILSON: Yes. It's crazy. I just said it before. I think you guys showed it on the intro video. Give yourself some grace. I think that's what I have to continue to preach myself. I have to tell myself that sometimes, my parents, my friends, everybody in between. We got to give ourselves some grace because that's the only way we can truly feel happy. That's the only way we can truly succeed because we get out of our own way, and we look in the mirror and we say we're okay. I'm here.

Think about all those times when you were down bad a year ago and now look at where you are. It's not that bad, and I think we have to give ourselves some grace in a lot of situations, big or small, to understand that we are fully equipped to be in the moment.

And I'm huge in my faith, and I'm the one that's like God has put me in this situation for a reason, and He's equipped me with everything that I need in order to be successful in this space. So that's how I do it, and I hope that I can share that with everyone else is we got to give ourselves some grace. This world is hard on us anyways. We can't be hard on ourselves too.

MR. CAPEHART: I want to have you explain a little bit further your comment about how it's lonely at the top, and there's an example that you write about your coach, Dawn Staley. And you've said, you know, she is like a second mom to you, and you write that despite leading the University of South Carolina's women's basketball team to the 2017 championship--there she is next to you--she faced criticism for, quote, "not recruiting White players."

MS. WILSON: Yeah. [Laughs]

MR. CAPEHART: What did you learn from that? And I want to read one more thing here--

MS. WILSON: Mm-hmm.

MR. CAPEHART: --because there's all the criticism of her and people saying, well, what's her problem? Why doesn't she recruit our White girls? And you write, "You had a team of 12 Black girls working their tails off. No, working their asses off to achieve history under a Black female head coach, and it still felt like a significant part of our community didn't want to celebrate it fully."

MS. WILSON: Yeah. I mean, that was the biggest thing that, to me, even in college, and I was like, dang, like we're still in this bubble. We're still in this area where people are like, "Well, no, what's going on now? We want more," and it's like we just won the first championship in women's basketball here at the University of South Carolina, and you guys are wondering why we don't look a certain way? And I'm just like that right there was something that I really had to just take to the chin and laugh off because I'm like there's no way we could ever get out of this.

I mean, no matter what we do, there's still someone that's going to say something or someone's going to think something. And if we continue to hang our heads on that, we're never going to be successful. We're never going to be able to be our true selves, and that right there was a moment where I was like, you know what? I have to be myself because it doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter how much I win. They're going to always have something else to compare me to, or they're always say something or always say, well, this is why I got it, and this is why I didn't get it. And that right there is something that I had to cut out completely of my life, because I was going to lose my mind if I'm like screaming at the top of my lungs like, "We just won a championship, and you guys are worried about this." But it's the world that we live in.

And someone that handles everything with grace is Dawn Staley. That woman there is someone that I hope that I can grow up to be, to handle things the way that she handles it, because, whoo, snaps to her. I could never be able to handle and navigate the world the way she does, but she does it flawlessly, and I love her for it.

MR. CAPEHART: Yeah. I don't know. I think you are well on your way to being a Dawn Staley, a clone.

But, you know, let's talk more about your mental health advocacy because you've been very open and up front about talking about your experience with panic attacks and seeking therapy. Many athletes have been more forthright. Who am I thinking of? Is it Dominique Dawes? Am I thinking of the right athlete? Being open about their mental health challenges. One, why is it important for you to be up front and open and honest about it? And what difference has it made in your life?

MS. WILSON: Yeah, I think the biggest difference that it made into my life was the fact that people see that I'm human. That's so key to me. That's why I wanted this book to feel like a diary, because I think a lot of people that buy the book or see me, nine out of ten times I'm in a basketball uniform, and I'm sweating, and I'm running up and down the court. And I'm doing some pretty cool things with my teammates. But that's not me all the time, and I think me opening up that can of worms of mental health and telling people how I feel, how I don't feel all the time, it helped them see that I'm human and that we all go through the same thing.

And I think it was important for me and the platform that I have as a professional athlete to share that because it's real. It's something that shouldn't get swept underneath the rug. It shouldn't be something that we don't talk about. It's something that we all kind of go through, and we feel it. And it's days where I'm like I don't want to get out of bed and this world hates me and I hate it and I just want to sleep, and there's days where I'm like I'm taking the world head on.

But it's okay to feel those, and I always say feel the feelings. That's something that I kept telling myself in the bubble when it was nothing but me and basketball. There were no outlets. I didn't have my puppies to hug on, and it's just my thoughts. And that right there, I had to feel them. I had to feel unhappy or happy--or sad or happy. Like, as soon as those thunderstorms go away, sunshine comes again, and that's something that I kind of stand by. And I hope that I can share that with me sharing it, that people understand that it's real, I'm real, but we're going to get through this every step of the way.

MR. CAPEHART: Mm-hmm. And I've got my great Black women athletes confused. It was not Dominique Dawes who I meant to say. It was Simone Biles is the name I was struggling for.

You have a foundation, A'ja, that works to empower children who struggle with dyslexia, as you do. The organization recently announced its Unapologetic Girls Summit. Tell me more about this summit and the work you do.

MS. WILSON: Yes. Well, normally I would do a basketball camp, but I wanted to do something bigger. I wanted to really tap into the youth community as young girls. I feel like basketball is just something that parents kind of send their kids to be like, "Go meet her. Go meet her. Go talk to her." And they don't even have a clue about basketball yet, and I'm just like, "Wow. We need to start a little further back. Like, let's get to the root of it." And so with this summit, it is a free summit. I think registration just closed. We sold out all the spaces, but I think it's about 150, 200 girls. And we're just taking where--they're learning about social media, cyberbullying, just simple things, how to be a woman, understanding how to address the situations and being yourself and being yourself unapologetically.

And I actually have a tattooed on my arm because that's how real it is to me, and I'm so excited to get a chance just to sit down with young girls and pick their brains, because the world is different. I feel like I'm getting older and older by the day, because I open up a social app and I don't know how to work it. But I turn to a young kid, and they're like, "Oh, my God, yes. Just click this button." I'm like okay. So for them to learn from me but also learn from them and then getting a chance to let me hear their stories and for them to just be heard and understand how we can navigate this world.

And I'm super excited about it. It's going to be so, so much fun. We got some customization shoes. Like, we're going through the whole nine. Like, hopefully I'm trying to see if they can get their nails done because I'm a girl that loves her nails done.

[Laughter]

MS. WILSON: But it's just a summit. It's like a time where they can just be themselves but also learn a lot of things about the world and myself.

MR. CAPEHART: Mm-hmm. Let me get you on one more thing before we have to go. This weekend is NBA All-Star weekend. You're going to be coaching. You're going to be a coach during the celebrity game--

MS. WILSON: Yeah.

MR. CAPEHART: --alongside Stephen A. Smith and Lil Wayne.

MS. WILSON: Yes.

MR. CAPEHART: Obviously, you're the pro here. So how are you going to lead your--how are you going to lead your team to victory?

MS. WILSON: You know, we might play a little zone. I got to see what the other team is looking like. We got to kind of put them on their heels and just continue to push the gas because we're not going to let up. I don't care if we're up by 30 or 50. We're not going to let up. We're going to run the basketball and see how they go. But I'm super excited just to see Lil Wayne. Stephen A., cool, I met him a couple of times. So that's okay. But just to be alongside Lil Wayne, the GOAT when it comes to rapping, I'm excited about it. I might fangirl low key, so I might be fangirling, but I got to keep my head on straight to lock in for my team.

[Laughter]

MR. CAPEHART: A'ja, I don't know. You just said it a couple times. You're excited because it's NBA All-Star weekend. I don't know if you know this. I just got an alert. Your book was just announced as a New York Times Best Seller. Did you know this already?

MS. WILSON: [Laughs] I did know it, but I--it just came out today, like officially, so I'm glad you said it.

MR. CAPEHART: Okay.

[Laughter]

MR. CAPEHART: Well, A'ja Wilson, two-time WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces and author of the New York Times best-selling book, "Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You," thank you so much for coming to "Capehart" on Washington Post Live.

MS. WILSON: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

MR. CAPEHART: This has been great, and thank you for joining us. For more of these important conversations, sign up for a Washington Post subscription. Get a free trial by visiting WaPo.st/live. Again, that is WaPo.st/live.

Once again, I'm Jonathan Capehart, associate editor at The Washington Post. Thank you for watching "Capehart" on Washington Post Live.

[End recorded session]

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