ANNAPOLIS, Md. — As the nation’s military academies try to recruit more minorities, they aren’t getting much help from members of Congress from big-city districts with large numbers of blacks, Latinos and Asians.
From New York to Chicago to Los Angeles, lawmakers from heavily minority areas rank at or near the bottom in the number of students they have nominated for appointment to West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy, according to an Associated Press review of records from the past five years.
High school students applying to the academies must be nominated by a member of Congress or another high-ranking federal official.
Congressional nominations account for about 75 percent of all students at the academies.
Academy records obtained by AP through the Freedom of Information Act show that lawmakers in roughly half of the 435 House districts nominated more than 100 students each during the five-year period.
But Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York City, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, nominated only four students, the lowest among House members who served the entire five-year period.
Rep. Charles Rangel, whose New York City district includes Harlem, was second-lowest, with eight nominations. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose San Francisco district is 29 percent Asian, was near the bottom, with 19.
In fact, the bottom 20 House members were all from districts where whites make up less than a majority.
“It’s beyond my imagination how someone that has the ability to nominate doesn’t do it,” Craig Duchossois said in December at his final meeting as chairman of the Naval Academy’s Board of Visitors.
He noted what an academy appointment means: a free four-year education and a guaranteed job as an officer for at least five years after graduation.
Velazquez, Rangel and Pelosi would not comment or did not return calls.
Academy leaders and some on Capitol Hill do not put all the blame on the politicians, pointing out that some districts might have a shortage of qualified candidates, either because students have not gotten the necessary academic preparation from their struggling schools, they are unaware of the opportunity, or they are uninterested.
Although the burden is ultimately on students to apply, academy leaders and others said elected officials should be doing more to publicize the opportunity by doing such things as visiting schools.
The academies have approached dozens of members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss attracting more minority students.
Minority recruitment improving
The military academies can cite some progress in minority recruitment in their freshman classes this year.
Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.: Among 1,230 freshmen, 435 are minorities, or about 35 percent, up from 28 percent in 2008.
U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.: Among 1,300 freshmen, 330 are minorities, or 25 percent, up from 22 percent in 2008.
Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs: Among 1,376 freshmen, 312 are minorities, or 23 percent, a slight increase from 2008.
