Discrimination is back!

The U.S. Naval Academy has eliminated race, ethnicity and sex as factors in its admissions process, according to court documents released Friday, implementing a controversial change mandated by President Donald Trump's January 2025 executive order.

The policy shift has ignited a heated national debate about equity, military readiness and the legacy of discrimination in America's armed forces.

The Academy's Superintendent, Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, quietly instituted the new admissions guidelines on February 14, 2025, according to Justice Department filings in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The change comes despite a December 2024 federal court ruling that had upheld the Academy's limited use of race-conscious admissions to promote diversity among future military leaders.

Trump's January 27 executive order directed all military branches to eliminate "any preference based on race or sex," calling such practices "divisive." The order specifically targeted Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs across the armed forces, including at service academies.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from current and former military leaders who argue diversity strengthens national security.

"Homogeneity is a security risk," warned retired Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a 2023 Foreign Affairs article about military diversity. "Our forces must reflect the nation they defend to maintain trust and effectiveness."

This view was echoed in the Academy's own court filings last year, where attorneys argued that considering race in admissions helps create "a more effective fighting force" by improving cultural competency and unit cohesion.

Retired Commander Janie L. Mines, who in 1980 became the first Black woman to graduate from the Academy, has long advocated for diversity in military leadership. In her 2020 memoir No One Gets Left Behind, Mines described how affirmative action policies helped counter systemic barriers she faced as a midshipman.

"The Navy I joined didn't think people like me belonged," Mines wrote, recounting experiences of racial isolation and harassment. "Today's leaders must actively cultivate diversity or risk returning to those dark days."

Sydney Barber, the Academy's first Black female brigade commander (Class of 2021), told The New York Times in 2024: "Diversity initiatives don't lower standards—they expand the talent pool to include qualified candidates who might otherwise be overlooked."

The policy change comes amid ongoing litigation by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the conservative group that successfully challenged affirmative action at Harvard University. SFFA President Edward Blum praised the Academy's reversal in a statement Friday, calling it "a victory for equal treatment under the law."

But Democratic lawmakers have vowed to fight back. Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), whose district includes Annapolis, called the decision "disastrous" in a March 2025 floor speech.

"When we erase the stories and struggles of women and people of color from our military institutions, we weaken both our armed forces and our democracy," Elfreth said, honoring Academy trailblazers like Mines and Barber.

Progressive advocate Lisa McCormick framed the debate in stark historical terms.

"From the genocide of Native Americans to slavery, Jim Crow and systemic sexism, our nation has centuries of discrimination to overcome," McCormick said. "Affirmative action was never about handouts—it was about removing obstacles created by this brutal history."

McCormick challenged the notion that race-neutral policies promote fairness.

"Trump’s executive order reflects an ideological fantasy that treats systemic discrimination as a relic of the past—rather than an ongoing reality," McCormick said. "But history and social science demonstrate that exploitation in America has always functioned at the intersection of race, sex, and class. To pretend these factors can be isolated is to ignore how power operates."

"When wealthy white men have benefited from generations of preferential treatment, suddenly declaring the playing field 'level' is the ultimate hypocrisy. This executive order doesn't end discrimination—it reinstates it."

In May 1980, 55 female midshipmen graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy for the very first time in history. Since then, over 5,000 women have graduated. In the class of 2025, there were approximately 225 female midshipmen, accounting for roughly 25 percent of the class.

From 1949, the first class with a black graduate, until 1969, about 17,500 midshipmen were graduated and commissioned, of whom only 36 were African-American.

Since 1970, the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) has graduated approximately 75,000 midshipmen, among them only 3,000 African Americans or a fraction from roughly 15 percent of the population. By the mid-1980s, the number of African American graduates grew to about 10-15 per year. By the 1990s, over 20 African American graduates per class became a regular occurrence, numbers that since 2000 have consistently reached the 20-30 per year range.

At least five people tapped for senior roles in Trump's administration — Pete Hegseth, Matt Gaetz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Linda McMahon, and Elon Musk — are linked to allegations of sexual misconduct.

Tim Scott is the only African American Republican senator. Ted Cruz and Bernie Moreno are the only senators of Latino heritage in the GOP. Many GOP senators come from privileged economic backgrounds, they are overwhelmingly White, and Ashley Moody, Katie Boyd Britt, Cynthia M. Lummis, Marsha Blackburn, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Joni Ernst, Shelley Moore Capito, Deb Fischer, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan M. Collins are the only Republican senators who are not men.

For comparison, there are three African American Democratic senators, five Democratic senators of Latino heritage, and 25 female Democratic senators, which is approximately 25% of the party's caucus. Around 25 Democratic senators come from privileged economic backgrounds, based on their family wealth, elite education, and high-paying careers prior to entering politics.

The Justice Department has paused litigation in the SFFA case while the new policy is implemented. Meanwhile, advocacy groups like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund are exploring legal challenges, arguing the change violates equal protection principles.

As the debate continues, the nation faces practical questions about how to maintain diversity without race-conscious admissions. Proposed alternatives—like increased outreach to underserved communities and expanded consideration of socioeconomic factors—remain untested at scale.

For veterans like Mines, the stakes transcend policy debates. "This isn't about politics," she wrote in her memoir. "It's about whether our military will lead the nation toward its ideals or away from them."