West Point gets its first black superintendent in 216-year history
‘If [Williams] is confirmed by the Senate, he will be a breath of fresh air,’ Caslen predicted.
West Point, founded in 1802 along the west bank of the Hudson River 50 miles north of New York City, didn’t graduate its first black cadet until the Reconstruction in 1877.
No black cadet had graduated in the 20th century when trailblazer Benjamin O Davis Jr arrived in there in 1932.
Davis ate alone, roomed alone and was shunned by fellow cadets because he was black.
After graduating in 1936, he went on to command the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and retired as an Air Force general in 1970. West Point recently named its newest cadet barracks for Davis.
The announcement of Williams’ appointment comes less than a year after an African-American cadet and Rhodes Scholar was selected to take the top position in West Point’s cadet chain of command.
Simone Askew, of Fairfax, Virginia, was selected first captain of the Corps of Cadets last summer and graduated in May.
You take good news (and anything resembling positive steps by this administration) whenever you can find them these days. And here we go.
