Major General Marcia Anderson discussed her life and her career as the highest ranking female African American in the history of the U.S. Army. She described growing up in impoverished East Saint Louis, Illinois, and her mother and grandmother’s efforts to get enough money to send her and her brother to Catholic schools. She said her love of reading as a child instilled the curiosity in her to continue her education. She spoke about President Truman’s 1948 Executive Order to desegregate the military and explained the differences between the regular and the reserve Army. She talked about being a female officer in a traditional male environment. 
Marcia Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Creighton University, a Masters Degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Rutgers University. In her civilian occupation, General Anderson is the Clerk of Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of Wisconsin.