I Want to Tell You About Racism at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

*This account was submitted to MLAA by a recent graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point*

Hey, I would like to stay anonymous, but I want to tell people what it is like to be a minority at Kings Point.

Being a minority at Kings Point is smiling and laughing off racism to fit in.

It’s biting your tongue to not be labeled as triggered, angry, or sensitive.

Kings Point is easily 50 years behind the times, and not only have they never discussed Pride month, the students complain when we had Black History Month.

Students would say: “when is White History Month?”

“When is Straight Pride Month?”

“Black History Month is bullshit”

“Oh, now there’s women’s month and the liberals are just making up anything now.”

(Yes, I’ve heard all these).

The racist jokes are even made by teachers. While I was in a knot-tying class a teacher who was weaving yellow and black line said to the class, “I’m from Alabama and we like to keep the darks from the lights down there.”

Kings Point only recently addressed racism because a video went viral of a drunk female lacrosse player holding a knife while saying “you could kill some N* words with these.”

At Kings Point the N-word is passed around casually. People felt so emboldened to say it around me, which I had to correct.

In 2018 a male student chanted "I hate N*words" (with hard R) on a bus ride back to campus after an event.

For his disciplinary hearing plenty of Midshipmen wrote him character statements saying that he wasn't racist—all white midshipmen.

When I asked them what happened no one could look me in face and tell me what was said... lol.

This is just the tip of the iceberg regarding racist incidents that have happened in recent years.

I’m a recent graduate.

I can’t imagine what older classes went through.