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Largest ever class of black women graduating from West Point

West Point Academy Makes History With Largest Class of Black Women Graduating 

These grads are making history at the United States Military Academy at West Point. They’re the largest class of graduating black women ever. The 32 women posed for the traditional Old Corps photo shoot to celebrate.

In this May 7, 2019 photo, black female cadets with the Class of 2019 pose at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. The 34 women comprise a small slice of the roughly 1,000 cadets in the class. The cadets say they're proud to be part of a milestone at the historic academy after four years of testing their limits. (Cadet Hallie H. Pound/U.S. Army via AP)

Black female cadets with the Class of 2019 pose at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. onMay 7, 2019. The 34 women comprise a small slice of the roughly 1,000 cadets in the class. The cadets say they’re proud to be part of a milestone at the historic academy after four years of testing their limits. Hallie H. Pound—U.S. Army/AP

(WEST POINT, N.Y.) — The class of cadets preparing to jubilantly toss their caps in the air at the U.S. Military Academy’s graduation ceremony Saturday includes 34 black women, a record number that’s a sign of concerted efforts to diversify West Point’s Long Gray Line.

West Point remains mostly white and mostly male. The 34 women comprise a thin slice of the roughly 1,000 cadets in the Class of 2019. Sometimes, they’re the only women of color in a classroom. Still, cadets said they’re proud to be part of a milestone at the historic academy after four years of testing their limits.

“I just showed myself and those who thought I couldn’t do it initially that yes, I can,” said senior cadet Stephanie Riley, of Jacksonville, Florida. “And not just, ‘yes, I can.’ I can show other little girls that yes, you can come to West Point. Yes, you can do something that maybe the rest of your peers aren’t actually doing. And yes, you can be different from the rest of the group.” To read more go to the link below:

http://time.com/5594906/west-point-graduates-black-female-cadets/

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