United States Military Academy at West Point

USMA has Diversity Outreach Officers, who are dedicated state representatives that support minority applicants. Diversity applicants can also participate in the Minority Visitation Program.

According to documents obtained by Judicial Watch after a public records lawsuit, West Point cadets are being trained in Critical Race Theory. Slides used for cadet training reference “Modern Day Slavery,” “Racial Inequality and Slavery,” “Whiteness” as “Race Privilege,” “How White Networks Exclude Black Men from Blue-Collar Jobs,” “Queer Theory,” and “Critical Race Theory.” In the archived link provided, over 600 pages of documents were turned over by the Department of Defense to Judicial Watch including course outlines, course slides, and emails exposing the degree of CRT instruction at West Point.

Cadets at West Point are required to attend a mandatory seminar on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” covering “White Power at West Point” and “Understanding Whiteness and White Rage.”

Cadets are "mandated to go through controversial trainings," which include "a classroom slide labeled 'White Power at West Point,' -- which reportedly gave one example of such as a comment made by a cadet in opposition to Affirmative Action," according to Fox News.

Former West Point cadets told Fox News that they recalled briefings on "white rage" and "extremism."

According to Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), cadets are required to "attend a mandatory seminar on 'Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.'" Congressman Waltz goes on to explain, "According to the schedule I received, cadets ‘MUST attend at least one of the seminars." Rep. Waltz was provided with a "presentation slide from one of the workshops with the title of ‘White Power at West Point’ and ‘Racist Dog Whistles at West Point.’"

Congressman Mike Waltz said in a letter to the West Point superintendent, "Additionally, I understand that on September 24, 2020 the entire corps of cadets was required to report to Michie Stadium for your address as Superintendent and to hear from a cadet panel. In this session, an active duty female colonel described to the Corps how she become ‘woke’ to her white privilege, and felt guilty for the advantages of her race. At this same assembly, white police officers were described as murderers with no context or court documents provided to corroborate the anecdotes of police brutality."

USMA offers a minor in Diversity and Inclusion Studies. The five-course minor includes the following requirements - 2 of 3 of PL377: Social Inequality, EN352: Power and Difference, and SS392: The Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality. 1 of 4 of HI391: World Religions, HI461: Sex and Civilizations, HI463: Race, Ethnicity, Nation, and HI398: Society and Culture in American History.

The syllabus for the 3-credit Social Sciences Department class SS392, The Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality, has assigned reading text “Critical Race Theory: An Introduction” by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic. The class is described to have a “focus on feminist theory, critical race theory, and queer theory.”

The superintendent of West Point suspended a "policy that limited or prevented cadets found in violation of the academy’s honor code from representing the academy in public, including athletes at sports events." This was due to the fact that it has "resulted in an inequitable application of consequences and developmental opportunities for select groups of cadets," according to the American Conservative.

The academy added an office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity in 2014. The ODIEO "identifies and advocates diversity and inclusion awareness opportunities and implements diversity training and education programs that develop socio-cultural competencies to meet the multicultural demand of the Army’s workforce."

USMA published The USMA Diversity Inclusion Plan of 2020-2025. On page five, USMA writes, "Increasing diversity in the Officer Corps and developing officers who engage and understand American society will foster a better civil-military relationship and assist in shrinking the gap between the military and civilian leaderships. A diverse and inclusive organization that is representative of the society it serves will allow us to attract dynamic men and women, which inherently will strengthen the force."

The Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity (ODIEO) has a number of programs, resources, events, and diversity clubs to promote diversity and inclusion including the West Point Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity Conference, Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity in STEM program, and the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Conference.

The school had a lecture titled, "Understanding Whiteness and White Rage," according to Fox News.

According to documents obtained by Judicial Watch, West Point had a presentation that discussed "whiteness," which had a slide that said, "In order to understand racial inequality and slavery, it is first necessary to address whiteness." It is unclear whether these presentations were mandatory for all cadets.

According to documents obtained by Judicial Watch, West Point had a presentation that included a graphic titled, "MODERN DAY SLAVERY IN THE USA."

Judicial Watch reported that another presentation had a text box which read, "‘Race and the Invisible Hand’ How White Networks Exclude Black Men from Blue-Collar Jobs." The same presentation asked students to, "Use CRT to support your answer."

Another presentation obtained by Judicial Watch had a slide titled, “Critical Race Theory and Policy," which described CRT has having these characteristics: "Racism is ordinary. Race is socially constructed. White Americans have primarily benefited from civil rights legislation."

One Social Sciences class, "The Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality," assigns "Critical Race Theory: An Introduction."

According to a presentation obtained by Judicial Watch, the academy's "Equal Opportunity Program" presentation has a slide on "Unconscious Bias."

Military.com reports that the Defense Department reversed a Trump administration action to "halt training on subjects including critical race theory and white privilege."

In an October 2020 document, the USMA describes two core strategic imperatives, one of which is to "build diverse and effective winning teams" through "diversity and inclusiveness in our Army." Team strength is defined solely on its "ability to leverage diversity across the spectrum."

On September 19, 2023, PR Newswire published an article titled "Students for Fair Admissions Files Lawsuit Challenging Racial and Ethnic Admissions Policies at West Point," which reported that "SFFA alleges that West Point is violating the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution" which "contains an equal-protection principle that binds the entire federal government and is no less strict and demanding than the Equal Protection Clause that binds the States and all public entities." Edward Blum, President the SFFA stated, "'Because the U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinion in the SFFA cases expressly forbids all institutions of higher education from using race in admissions decisions, it must follow that the U. S. military higher education institutions must end their race-based policies as well'." The lawsuit was filed on September 19, 2023.

The academy created the Diversity Forum. Its Mission Statement reads, "Nested in the West Point Leadership Center, the Diversity Forum provides diverse exposure, unique education opportunities, and empowerment activities for cadets to lead on topics of diversity, inclusion, and equity."

On May 14, 2021, West Point held its annual awards ceremony where staff and faculty members received awards for their efforts towards diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley defended the USMA’s Critical Race Theory teachings and the importance of understanding “Whiteness and White Rage.”

Rep. Michael Waltz obtained evidence of critical race theory curriculum being taught to cadets at West Point. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Waltz goes on to say when you come into the military, “you are told the only skin color you should worry about is camouflage...the enemy’s bullets don’t care about Black, White, or Brown, or political party or race or religion or any of that.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley defended the study of Critical Race Theory in a June 2021 congressional hearing. Milley said, "So what is wrong with understanding, having some situational understanding about the country for which we are here to defend? And I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned, non-commissioned officers of being, quote, ‘woke’ or something else, because we're studying some theories that are out there."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in June 2021, "We do not teach critical race theory, we don’t embrace critical race theory and I think that’s a spurious conversation...We are focused on extremist behaviors, and not ideology, not people’s thoughts, not people’s political orientation."

The Academy's Superintendent, LTG Gilland, announced that during the holiday break of 2022, "We will begin a multi-phased process, in accordance with Department of Defense (DoD) directives, to remove, rename or modify assets and real property at the United States Military Academy (USMA) and West Point installation that commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy or those who voluntarily served with the Confederacy." The process would include removing several Robert E. Lee statues at the academy, as well as replacing names on "streets, buildings, and areas throughout West Point currently named for individuals who served in the Confederacy."

The United States Military Academy at West Point has the Excel Scholars Program intended to work towards “this mission through promoting diversity of the cadet leadership participant pool, identification of promising cadets from historically underrepresented groups, encouragement of ongoing excellence in the academic, military, and physical dimensions of the West Point Leader Development System (WPLDS), and the nurturing of the talent to compete for post-graduate scholarship opportunities.”

PL377 Social Inequality

PL300B Military Leadership: Leading Inclusive Teams

SS392 The Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality

EN352 Power and Difference

HI463 Race, Ethnicity, Nation