Jennifer McPherson, the First Female Wrestler in St Paul Public Schools, at Harding High School
I am the first female wrestler for SPPS I also played baseball and football. I am immensely proud of my accomplishments and thankful I can say that however, in a way, it hurts to say it. I think about the females before me who wanted to wrestle or play football and were denied. Those females either took that no or tried to fight back without success. I had a mother who believed that everyone, regardless of race or gender, is equal. We may have distinct gender roles, but neither is greater than the other. The day I wrestled for the first time I was in the fourth grade I did not have any training I watched my brother’s matches and said I can do that. I won a lot of matches and trophies.
1994-1995 school year a 7th grade 12 year female student joins the wrestling team at Hazel Park Academy she practices with the boys, she does everything to prove herself lifting weights, running the hall, competing for a spot and one day the school paper takes team photos for the sports teams and the school admin gets together and decide that is not okay. This young female student is pulled out of class to meet with the principal to be told because of her gender she could not be on the wrestling team. The principal gives her the handbook and she notices that it says females 12 and under may compete on the boys’ teams. The principal is enraged snatches the handbook and says, “you’re in 7th grade you cannot wrestle.” The tears rolling off her face because the wrestling mat was her freedom she worked hard to develop her technique and talents. She believed she was able to do and be anything she wanted to be. She was raised in the era when military commercials aired on the television and the most heard slogan was, “be all you can be in the Army” little did this 12-year old little girl know that freedom and dreams were limited to the military. The next two weeks she did media interviews and was sidelined with no practice at all. Her mother went to the school district to meet with the board and superintendent her classmates protested and walked out of school in support. After her story gained support from people all over, she could compete, winning her first match.
I am Jennifer my story makes me who I am today it makes me fight harder because I don’t know who has my back so I can’t stand still and allow people to be treated unfairly I ran for school board twice drawing my motivation from my mother and the community leaders from the 80’s who had a hand in raising me through Inner City Youth League. I am currently in my first year in Criminal Justice and plan to make a career in politics to help my community and country.
–Jennifer McPherson
Jennifer McPherson wrote the above narrative when I asked her to write about her fight to be able to wrestle as a girl at Harding High School. She also shared the photo above as well. She said she knew local Civil Rights leaders when she was growing up: Kwame McDonald, Bobby Hickman, Bill Wilson, William “Corky” Finney.
Jennifer is a conservative and she ran for the St Paul Public School Board in 2019 and 2021. She ran as a nonpartisan candidate as it was a nonpartisan election. Upon reading the candidate articles in the Star & Tribune by Tony Lonetree, as well as the Pioneer Press Newspapers, plus watching the SPNN LWV Forum Saintpaulrepublicans.us suggested to Republican Voters to vote for Jennifer in both years. I, Publius Jr, might add without telling her when I made the suggestion.
Jennifer is a mother who is concerned about the world her children are growing up in. She follows the example her mother set when her mother fought for Jennifer to be able to compete on boys wrestling, baseball, and football teams.
I sometimes catch myself mispronouncing her name as Jennifer “McFearsome,” but upon reflection, Jennifer is exactly that, she’s Fearsome when she sets her mind to achieving a goal.
Black History Month is really a nod toward Republican Heroes who were the foundations of the Civil Rights Era of the 1860s and beyond; Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Lincoln was born on February 12th 1809, and Douglass was born on February 14th 1818. It was started in 1926 by Carter Woodson, a historian. It was Negro History Week up until 1969 when Kent State University Students and Faculty suggested it should be an entire month. The first Black History Month was February 1970. In 1976 President Gerald Ford recognized it for the first time.
With this in mind I thought I’d find a local resident to write about. It was a mere coincidence that I contacted Jennifer McPherson about a Minnesota Parents Alliance project. Then I just asked if I could post something about her. ~~ Publius Jr.