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West Point investigating black female cadets' raised-fists photo, niggers acting like niggers.

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NEW YORK –  The U.S. Military Academy has launched an inquiry 
into a photo showing 16 black, female cadets in uniform with 
their fists raised, an image that has spurred questions about 
whether the gesture violates military restrictions on political 
activity.

West Point is looking into whether the photo broke any rules, 
Spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker said Saturday. It's 
unclear how long the inquiry will take and too soon to say what 
consequences it could have for the cadets, who are poised to 
graduate May 21.

By campus tradition, groups of cadets often take pictures in 
traditional dress uniforms to echo historical portraits of their 
cadets. Indeed, a different picture of the same women, without 
the raised fists, was tweeted out by the chairwoman of the 
academy's Board of Visitors, 1980 graduate Brenda Sue Fulton.

But the fists-up image, which circulated online, led some 
observers to question whether the women were expressing support 
for the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew out of protests 
over police killings of unarmed black men.

The Army Times, which first wrote about the photo Thursday, said 
several readers had written in to say they believed the cadets 
were breaching a Defense Department policy that says "members on 
active duty should not engage in partisan political activity," 
with exceptions for voting and certain other things.

But Mary Tobin, a West Point graduate and mentor who knows the 
students, said they were simply celebrating their forthcoming 
graduation as a shared accomplishment, like a sports team 
raising helmets after a win.

"It was a sign of unity," Tobin, a 2003 graduate, said by phone. 
"They weren't trying to imply any allegiance to any movement."

The raised fist has served as a symbol of power and resistance 
for various political movements and causes. The gesture has 
caused controversy before, including when black American 
sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos lifted gloved fists in 
black power salutes during a medal ceremony at the 1968 Mexico 
City Olympics.

Yet the cadets, immersed in the insulated and demanding 
environment of West Point, didn't anticipate how their gesture 
would be interpreted and the attention it would draw, said 
Tobin, who has spoken with them about it.

"Their frame of reference is: 'Right now, we're getting ready to 
graduate in three weeks, I'm standing here with my sisters .... 
We outlasted a lot of people, black or white, male or female,' " 
she said.

Black women cadets are rarities at West Point, where about 70 
percent of students are white and about 80 percent are men, 
although the percentage of women has been growing in recent 
starting classes.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/05/09/west-point-investigating-
black-female-cadets-raised-fists-photo.html
     

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West Point investigating black female cadets' raised-fists photo, niggers acting like niggers. "Coon Scum" <coon.scum@naacp.org> - 2016-05-16 09:47 +0200

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