The class of cadets graduating from the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday includes 34 black women, a record number that's a sign of concerted efforts to diversify West Point's Long Gray Line.
The class of cadets preparing to jubilantly toss their caps in the air at the U.S. Military Academy's graduation ceremony Saturday includes 34 black women, a record number that's a sign of concerted efforts to diversify West Point's Long Gray Line.
Riley was among the black female cadets who recently posed for pre-graduation photos in their gray uniforms, holding out ceremonial sabers. The pictures — part of a tradition for graduating cadets — were posted widely online and became a symbol of West Point's increasing diversity. West Point boosted efforts to recruit women and blacks after being told to diversify in 2013 by then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno. The academy changed its marketing approach and opened a diversity office. Admissions officials increased outreach to metropolitan areas like New York City, Atlanta and Detroit. Not all of these efforts were aimed specifically at minorities or women, but they broadened the search for qualified candidates.
Even with the progress in diversity, West Point has not been immune to issues faced by the military and society. Sexual assault and harassment have been such a persistent problem that Williams suspended classes for a day in February so the entire academy could focus intently on them. And it was only four years ago that 16 black female seniors inadvertently stirred up controversy by raising clenched fists in one of their own pre-graduation pictures.
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