Apartheid. USA 1988

November 22, 1987:

The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina and the Virginia Military Institute are the last state supported, all-male military colleges in the nation. On the night of October 23rd, a serious racial incident occurred at The Citadel that led to the resignation of a black cadet. That night five white cadets, hooded and sheeted like Klan members appeared at the bedside of a black cadet, Kevin Nesmith, a black freshman and his room-mate, Michael Mendoza, of Philippine descent, were dredged out of their sleep with chants of ‘Nesmith, NEE-smith, NEEE-smith!’ After a confused scuffle with Mr. Mendoza trying to turn on the room's lights, the intruders fled, leaving a charred paper cross. They went to

[p. 141]

the room of Terry L Adams, the only other black cadet on the first floor of the Fourths Battalion's barracks.

In spite of this obvious racial incident, the Times reported that ‘earnestly, respectfully, all of Mr Nesmith's white company battalion and regimental commanders, all of them white, insist that no racial motives were at play...’ But several blacks interviewed at The Citadel by the Times offered a different perspective. ‘Watch,’ one said bitterly, ‘they will say that they were just trying to motivate him.’ And black upperclassman said, ‘ Kevin and his room-mate were not motivated, they were scared that night.’ Other black cadets, asking that they not be named, recalled their own experience as freshmen. One came back to his room to find a cross made of popsickle sticks smoldering on his bed. He suspected a white upperclassman who kept telling jokes with epithets about blacks. Another cadet said he was summoned after lights-out to an upperclassman's room where four senior officers waited for him. One braced him at attention, leaned into his face and told him: ‘I hate black people. I don't want you in my school and I'll do anything I can to run you out.’ Of the 2 000 cadets at The Citadel, 116 are black.^175.

175. The New York Times, from a report by Dudley Clendinen