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Army veteran Chef Andre Rush leads discussion on racism in military
A group of African American military veterans came together on Friday to have what they called a tough, but necessary discussion of racism in the military.
Longtime White House chef and Army veteran Andre Rush led the panel discussion, which featured five combat veterans of varying ranks from different branches of the American armed forces.
“This is open minds, talking about different things,” said Rush at the outset of the nearly two-hour discussion which took place in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A white officer faces murder charges after a video showed him kneeling on the handcuffed black man's neck for nearly nine minutes.
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Panelists included “Marine Rapper” Raymond Lott; Air Force veteran and entrepreneur Charlynda Scales; Marine veteran and entrepreneur Toni Williams’ Army veteran Jeremy Stills; and Marine veteran Tony Taylor.
“Is there racism in the military?” asked Stills. “Yes, there is. You have to do your best when confronted with it.”
The panel answered questions submitted by the public throughout the session and none were off-limits. They began by strongly disagreeing with the perception that black men and women are “angry all the time.”
“You are constantly having to police your outward emotions,” Scales said.
Lott said he first experienced racism at a young age,
“I became aware of it when I was 7 or 8 years old when people made me aware of my race,” he said.
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Lott said his mother prepared him for being exposed to racism and taught him to be respectful.
“I did everything my mom told me to do, but still got called the n-word,” he said.
The panel said racist incidents must be confronted in an educational manner. Incidents of white privilege must also be pointed out, they said.
Panelists also said that every race has its racists.
“I’ve been told that I’m not a black man because I’m not a whole black man, and that throws me for a loop, ” said Taylor, who is bi-racial.
They also agreed that the military is ahead of the curve when compared to civilian society when it comes to cultural training.
Panelists also said they did not support the looting and rioting that has taken place across the country in wake of Floyd’s death
“I need people to stay focused on the eradication of systematic racism and racism,” said Scales.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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