More than a dozen Black men who attended Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in the mid-1970s to early 1980s described pervasive and pernicious racism at the school, The Washington Post reported.
Many of them said they are proud of their education at VMI and some do not believe the scrutiny of the school is warranted.
Some felt alienated by VMI’s veneration of the Confederacy and its mandatory traditions honoring cadets who died for the South during the Civil War.
Two described feeling targeted for expulsion by the school’s student-run Honor Court because of their race.
One Black student – in the early 1980s – who was charged by the Honor Court with violating the honor code received two notes at his room that a VMI staff member saved: “Whats better than a Black leaving VMI? One that gets KICKED Out!!! THE CORPS.” And: “Go Home Black BOY!!! The Corps.”
Darren McDew, 60, one of VMI’s most prominent Black alumni and a retired four-star Air Force general, said three of his white classmates had freely used the n-word, “jigaboo” and “spear chucker.”
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam arrived at VMI in 1977 and graduated in 1981. He said he didn’t remember seeing racism aimed at Black cadets but was “sure it happened.”
