AUBURN, Ala. – When Wendell Merritt thinks of trailblazers, she thinks of civil rights heroes such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, or Harold Franklin, Vivian Malone and James Hood, the students who integrated Auburn University and the University of Alabama, respectively.
"That was bravery," she said.
Auburn's first African American female student-athlete, Merritt refuses to assign any lofty status to herself.
"I never saw myself as a trailblazer," she said. "I was the first Black, okay fine, and that was it. Not to minimize it, but maybe that's why I never put it on any kind of shelf."
When she arrived on the Plains in 1977 from Colquitt, Georgia, Merritt was unaware of the history she would make.
"I had no idea that I was the first Black basketball player," said Merritt, who did not learn until many years later that no woman of color had preceded her in any varsity Auburn sport. "Someone came up to me in Haley Center and made that known to me. It never dawned on me that no one was prior."
Busy with academics and basketball, Merritt did not concern herself with the makeup of Auburn's previous women's teams.
"I didn't even think to look back to see who was there before me," she said.
Henry Harris in men's basketball and James Owens in football had integrated Auburn Athletics in the early 1970s.
"My situation was more welcoming," she said. "Even during that time it was still somewhat hostile here in the South, but from my heart, my teammates were very nice and welcoming to me.
"You did have your moments and times where you probably grieved by yourself when no one knew you were feeling a certain way."
Wendell Merritt returned to Auburn in November for a reunion of Black athletes from the 1970s
At Miller County High School, Merritt won a state championship her senior season, choosing Auburn in part because of the Tigers' star player who shared her last name, Marianne Merritt. Wendell Merritt played two seasons for head coach Jan Pylant before being part of Joe Ciampi's first Auburn team in 1979-80.
Merritt struggled to duplicate the individual success she enjoyed in high school, reflected by her lack of playing time.
"It became more like a job," she said. "The fun wasn't there. Maybe fun comes because you're playing. You put 100 percent into practice and training and everything it took to get to game time, but you're sitting on the bench. After a while, it became more about trying to focus on why my mom and dad sent me to college."
The daughter of a school principal, Merritt grew up in a family of 13.
"I always considered my mom and dad to be my Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta," she said. "They were really active in the community."
While at Auburn, Merritt says she struggled to balance the demands of academics and athletics at the expense of her social life.
"It was tough getting to the coliseum every day, put in 100 percent, come back being tired and exhausted to try to get your schoolwork," she said. "You don't have that student experience because you're trying to determine where you fit into this big body of people.
"I can't say I left Auburn with any non-Black friends. I grieve that I didn't have that real true student experience. I love diversity because I think it totally dismisses ignorance. It brings people together. My life now is so different. I have a rainbow of friends and cultures behind me."
Merritt's school system integrated racially when Wendell was in elementary and junior high, but it took the state of Georgia threatening to withhold funding for the local school board to combine boys and girls at the same building, an experience that bonded her class and prepared her for Auburn.
"Never sat in a classroom with a boy until I was a senior in high school," she said. "I was able to deal with some of the separation where you might not have felt socially that you were part of the campus per se. But I think I'm the person I am today because of those experiences."
The James Owens Foundation sponsored a breakfast honoring Auburn's first decade of Black student-athletes
After graduating from Auburn University in communications in 1982, Merritt moved to New York and began her career with March of Dimes. She then joined IBM, where she worked for 36 years before retiring in June 2020. When her father became ill, she relocated to Atlanta and now lives in Warner Robins, Georgia.
"That degree took me across all aspects of departments, a little bit of everything," said Merritt, who worked in technical support, sales and administration.
As her years away from Auburn went by, Merritt's connection to the women's basketball program decreased, until a November reunion of Black Auburn student-athletes from the 1970s sponsored by the James Owens Foundation rekindled her engagement.
"That was a chapter from long ago, but I think it's going to change now," she said. "Seeing the energy that was there."
While on campus, Merritt shared her story with a student.
"That gave me a different perspective because we do owe it to those students who are coming up," she said. "I think I have missed out on not being more involved."
Auburn's rich legacy includes women of color who have won Olympic medals, SEC championships and NCAA titles. Ruthie Bolton, Vickie Orr, Derrian Gobourne, Kerron Stewart and so many others.
Someone had to be first, to open the door for all who would follow. That someone was Wendell Merritt, a humble pioneer.
"You can't brush adversities under the rug," she said. "You have to face it, talk about it and be more open."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer