West Point Installs First African American Superintendent
For the first time in its 216-year history, an African American, Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, will command the U.S. Army Academy at West Point.
A 1983 graduate of the military college and native of Alexandria, Virginia, who has held high-ranking posts in Europe and Asia, Williams has served as deputy chief of staff for the Army in Europe and deputy commanding general for support for the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. Recently, he was the commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command in Turkey.
Founded in 1802 along the west bank of the Hudson River 50 miles north of New York City, West Point didn’t graduate its first black cadet until 1877. Throughout the 20th century, the military college didn’t graduate another black cadet until Benjamin O. Davis Jr. arrived in 1932. During his stay, Davis ate alone, roomed alone, and was shunned by fellow cadets because he was black. After his graduation in 1936, he would go on to command the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, retiring as an Air Force general in 1970. Of the 1,200 incoming members of West Point’s class of 2020, 186 are African Americans.
