Probe finds ‘racist and sexist culture’ at Virginia Military Institute

by Cameron Jenkins - 06/01/21 3:41 PM ET

A probe into the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) found that the school fosters “a racist and sexist culture,” according to a copy of the probe’s finding obtained by The Washington Post.

The investigation was conducted by an independent group, the Barnes & Thornburg law firm, and its results were released on Tuesday.

“This investigation found that institutional racism and sexism are present, tolerated, and left unaddressed at VMI. The racist and misogynistic acts and outcomes uncovered during this investigation are disturbing,” the report obtained by the Post stated. “Although VMI has no explicitly racist or sexist policies that it enforces, the facts reflect an overall racist and sexist culture.”

Among its recommendations, the report suggested that the school reform its current culture and develop reports documenting the changes. It also called on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and the General Assembly to create a committee to evaluate quarterly reports and address barriers to progress, the Post noted.

“Recommendations from the Barnes & Thornburg report will be evaluated through the lens of the VMI mission and our unique method of education, and, where appropriate, be integrated into the One Corps-One VMI plan,” said VMI’s superintendent, retired Army Maj. General Cedric T. Wins, in a statement in response to the probe.

The superintendent released a “unifying action plan” that he said would help the military institute move “forward.”

Wins has previously stated that discrimination will not be tolerated at the school since he took over as the superintendent last year. On Tuesday, he called for “the VMI community to come together as brother rats, fellow cadets, alumni, and friends to make an already special place even more special.”

“We cannot do this as a community of factions,” he said. “VMI has a long history of improvement. Now is no different. The Institute will move forward and will be better because of this chapter in our history.”

Northam ordered an investigation into allegations of “structural racism” at VMI last year after Black cadets and alumni said they endured racism while attending the school.

“Black cadets at VMI have long faced repeated instances of racism on campus, including horrifying new revelations of threats about lynching, vicious attacks on social media, and even a professor who spoke fondly of her family’s history in the Ku Klux Klan—to say nothing of inconsistent application of the Institute’s Honor Code,” Northam, Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D), Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) and several state House and Senate leaders wrote in a letter at the time.

“This culture is unacceptable for any Virginia institution in the 21st century, especially one funded by taxpayers,” it continues. “Virginians expect all universities—and particularly public universities established by the General Assembly—to be welcoming and inclusive, and to eschew outdated traditions that glamorize a history rooted in rebellion against the United States.”

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