RICHMOND, Va. — In a letter addressing allegations of ‘relentless racism’ against Black cadets at Virginia Military Institute, the president of VMI’s board of visitors wrote systemic racism does not exist at the prestigious military university.
The disturbing details, first published by the Roanoke Times and further reported by The Washington Post, include a threat of lynching, racist social media messages, and a faculty member glorifying family ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
“The incidents detailed in The Washington Post article, several of which are many years old, had more to do with an individual’s lapse of judgment than they do with the culture of the Institute,” said John W. Boland of the VMI board.
“These incidents were perpetrated by few individuals and were in no way condoned by the Institute.”
Yet one of the Institute’s most prominent alumnae, Virginia Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Prince William) disagreed with the college’s characterization, and said she experienced similar episodes before her graduation in 2003.
“What VMI has to understand is that the actions of the cadets are symptoms of a greater problem,” Carroll Foy said. “There has to be a culture that’s there, permitting this to happen.”
Carroll Foy described racist incidents she experienced as a cadet as “more egregious than some of the accounts that were written” in the Post and Times accounts.
The candidate for Governor of Virginia declined to further illustrate the events, which she said she moved past during her time at VMI.
“I was able to endure,” Carroll Foy said. “But some of these things should not be tolerated. And that is racism on any level, sexism, bullying, period.”
VMI on Tuesday agreed to a third-party review of its culture, a demand made by Gov. Ralph Northam, a 1981 graduate of the institute.
Yet Carroll Foy said changes must include adding racist behavior to the college’s strict honor code — with one adjudicated incident leading to expulsion.
Currently, if cadets are found guilty of lying, cheating or stealing, they are immediately dismissed from VMI.
“Cadets will be leading companies and corporations, battalions down the road, and this is a way to instill from the beginning of their cadetships, said Foy.