*Black girl magic will be in full bloom during West Point’s class of 2019, as 34 Black women are expected to graduate from the prestigious military academy next weekend — the highest number in the history of the academy.
This year’s class will also include the highest number of Hispanic graduates and the institution’s 5,000th female graduate, according to ABC affiliate WABC.
West Point spokesperson Frank DeMaro told USA TODAY that nineteen Hispanic female cadets are expected to graduate in a May 25 ceremony. He also projects that next year’s class of Black graduates will be even bigger.
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Congratulations on entering the next great chapter of your lives. I know you are just getting started. https://t.co/Hy9NV3FfCJ
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 18, 2019
A photo of the historic class of 2019 has gone viral on social media, and cadet Tiffany Welch-Baker told the website Because of Them We Can that she hopes “young Black girls see these photos is that they understand that regardless of what life presents you, you have the ability and fortitude to be a force to be reckoned with.”
“Congratulations on entering the next great chapter of your lives. I know you are just getting started,” Senator Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter.
West Point was founded in 1802 and, according to the National Park Service, graduated its first Black cadet in 1877, per ABC News.
Last year, Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams was appointed as West Point’s first Black American superintendent, CNN reported.
via CNN:
Williams’ appointment comes less than a year after the academy selected the first African-American woman to serve in the highest role in the chain of command for cadets. Simone Askew, a Rhodes Scholar who graduated in May, led 4,400 cadets as first captain, West Point announced in November 2017.
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to address West Point’s class of 2019 as commencement speaker.
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