VP Harris becomes first woman to deliver West Point commencement speech, warns cadets of ‘unsettled world’
Vice President Kamala Harris commended West Point’s graduating cadets on Saturday for heeding the call to serve in an “unsettled world” during a history-making commencement speech, making her the first woman to ever give the keynote address in the military academy’s 221-year history.
“The world has drastically changed,” Harris said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic as well as the global political shifts across Europe and Asia.
The vice president specifically warned of China’s race to modernize its military and its battle for control of different parts of the high seas, a seeming nod to the brewing disputes over the South China Sea. She also noted that the Russian invasion of Ukraine marked the first major ground war in Europe since World War II.
“It is clear you graduate into an increasingly unsettled world where long-standing principles are at risk,” she told graduates.
Harris additionally discussed the importance of inclusivity at renowned institutions like West Point, noting that their communities should reflect the diversity of the broader United States.
The military academy first welcomed women in 1976 — a year after Congress passed legislation that allowed them to enroll at the federal service academies. In 1980, Andrea Hollen became the first of 62 women to graduate from West Point. Since then, more than 5,000 women have passed through the school in upstate New York.
This year, about one quarter of the student body are women, though just few dozen of roughly 950 graduates are Black women.
Last year, Harris gave the commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and in 2021, she became the first female commencement speaker at the U.S. Naval Academy.
It’s typical for the vice president to deliver the commencement at West Point, which is part of the reason why it has taken so long for a woman to deliver the speech. Traditionally, men have maintained the senior leadership positions within the academy’s chain of command, which includes the president, vice president, secretary of defense and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. President Biden similarly offered the keynote address back when he was vice president in 2016.
This year, Biden is set to speak at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation. He also spoke at Howard University’s commencement ceremony earlier this month.
With News Wire Services
