In response to Brunell

In his Nov. 12 column, Don Brunell lauds the racial diversity of the U.S. military. I agree with his statement that the integration of our military is something to celebrate.

Interestingly NPR ran a related story this fall (Why Does the Navy Have So Few Black Admirals? Nov. 6, 2020). The enlisted population of the U.S. Navy is more diverse than the U.S. population. Twenty percent of enlisted sailors are black compared to 13% of the general population.

But the percentage of black sailors in the officer corps drops to 8%. When promotion becomes selective, persons of color are underrepresented.

This situation illustrates systemic racism and shows that it is maintained by white people. The huge majority of flag officers are white men. White men patronize other white men preferentially. Hence white officers rise in the U.S. Navy while persons of color and women are stranded, unable to advance without a patron.

Redressing systemic racism has to be done by white people, and the changes have to be made in the places we operate: in city councils, in school boards, in executive boardrooms.

Un-creating systemic racism is the big issue of our age and I want to be part of a city and county that acts.

-Roger Crawford

Pullman