CWU kicks off Black History Month with guest speaker Jennifer King

Central Washington University welcomed football coaching pioneer Jennifer King to the Ellensburg campus on Thursday, February 5, to speak about her experience as the first Black woman to work as a full-time coach in the NFL.

King came into the Black History Month-themed event hoping to give audience members the push they needed to take their next leap of faith.

“Don’t be afraid to be the first,” she said. “That’s something I would tell my younger self if I had the opportunity, I wouldn’t have waited so long to try to get into football. If you’re up there just waiting to take the dive, you just have to go. I’ll push you. That’s what I did when I left basketball for football. I just took a leap, and it worked out.”

The speaking engagement, which was held in the SURC Ballroom and moderated by Law and Justice Professor Theresa Divine, opened with a singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Gaye Adegbalola, often referred to as the “Black national anthem.”

Throughout the event, King emphasized the hard work and countless mentors that have marked her career, from when she started coaching football at Dartmouth College to when she joined the NFL with the Washington Commanders in 2021.

“I always have an interesting story to tell, so I try to share that and hope that something I’ve experienced along the way can help them as well,” said King, who has also coached with the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. “My overall message is motivation, as a coach.”

The event wrapped up with a series of questions from audience members, with King providing everything from life advice to in-depth football analysis. Through it all, her message was one of hard work and dedication, of having faith in the people around you, and of keeping one’s head in the game at all times.

“It helps that I am the type of person I am,” King said. “I know I got here by working hard and doing a great job, and by being where my feet are planted.”

The free event served as the kickoff for Black History Month at CWU, and was made possible through sponsorship from the CWU Multicultural Center, the Rotary Club of Yakima, OIC of Washington, and the Africana and Black Studies, and Women Gender and Sexuality Studies programs.