Page 54 - Florida Sentinel 5-17-19

Across The Nation
The Largest Class Of Black Women Ever Is Preparing To Graduate From West Point Military Academy
Thirty two black women in the Class of 2019 at The U. S. Military Academy at West Point.
Less than a year after Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams became the first black officer to command the United States Military Academy and two years after Simone Askew became the first black woman to lead the Corps of Cadets, West Point will graduate its largest ever class of black women later
this month, when 32 women cross the stage.
The soon-to-be graduates recently participated in the traditional “Old Corps” photo shoot to memorialize their achievement.
Cadet Tiffany Welch- Baker, one of the graduates, told Because of Them We Can, “My hope when young
black girls see these photos is that they understand that re- gardless of what life presents you, you have the ability and fortitude to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Baker said she initially questioned her decision to leave active duty and attend West Point, but “In just a short while I met so many
cadets that looked like me, and that offered me some comfort. I have been fortu- nate to have my sisters in arms, we have been fortunate to have each other.”
West Point was founded in 1802 and did not graduate its first black cadet until 1877. It did not graduate a black cadet in the 20th century
until Benjamin O. Davis in 1936. The first black Corps of Cadets captain was not named until 1979.
While it is lamentable that we are still marking these kinds of firsts in the 21st century, it is worth cele- brating all this Black Girl Magic happening at West Point this year.
Teaching The Bible In Public Schools Is On The Rise Across The Nation
An increasing number of states across the U. S., buoyed by a January post by tweeter in chief Donald Trump, are adding Bible study to public school curric- ula in a move critics see as an attack on the separation of church and state as outlined in the Constitution.
As the Washington Post reports:
Activists on the religious right, through their legisla- tive effort Project Blitz, drafted a law that encour- ages Bible classes in public schools and persuaded at least 10 state legislatures to introduce versions of it this year. Georgia and Arkansas recently passed bills that are awaiting their governors’ signatures.
The idea of adding the study of the Bible to public school coursework is not new; as CNN reports, the
idea has “ebbed and flowed” for at least the last 20 years. But in 2016, Republicans
added support for “Bible lit- eracy” in public schools to their party platform, and this year, Trump added fuel to that fire in a tweet he posted in January:
Supporters of Bible liter- acy in the schools argue that
the impact of the Bible on U. S. and world societies cannot be denied and deserves to be studied.
Chuck Stetson, who publishes a Bible study text- book used in more than 600 public schools around the country, cites Trump’s sup- port for the curricula.
“We’re not too far away
from a tipping point. Instead of having to find a reason to teach the Bible in public schools academically, as part of a good education, you’re going to have to find a rea- son not to do it,” Stetson told the Washington Post. “When the president of the United States gives us a shoutout, that’s pretty crazy.
... It’s got the momentum now.”
But critics say too often such coursework becomes less about looking at the Bible from a strictly aca- demic point of view and more about proselytizing about Christianity or even, specifically, Protestantism over other Christian sects.
As Heather Weaver, an attorney with the Ameri- can Civil Liberties Union told CNN:
“Although they are often dressed up in neutral terms and they say these courses are not allowed to promote religion, these schools know that when it comes to imple- menting these courses, stu- dents are subjected to religious proselytizing and minority students are sub- jected to feeling excluded when these courses are of- fered.”
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