Online CLE: Military Racism: Reality and Remedies
Channel: James M. Branum
Date: 2023-11-09

The Government Accounting Office report released in May 2019 found evidence that black and Hispanic troops were more likely than their white peers to be investigated by military commanders and tried in courts-martial, but not any more likely to be found guilty. The report also found inconsistencies in how racial data related to court cases is collected and chastised military leaders for being slow to react to the report’s recommendations a year later. Reuters reports that servicemembers rarely file formal Equal Opportunity complaints compared to their civilian employee counterparts within the Defense Department. This is due to the widespread and not inaccurate view that EO complaints are largely ineffective and result in retaliation.
A 2020 Military Times poll found that 57% of servicemembers of color said they had witnessed incidents of racism or racist ideology. In addition, 48% of all participants listed white nationalists as a major national security threat. This was confirmed when it turned out that 1 in 5 defendants in capitol riot cases served in the military. The new instruction places the onus of detection and enforcement on commanders. While there are reporting requirements for local commands, it’s not clear the commander must report if she or he doesn’t think active participation or real extremism is occurring. This will make for uneven enforcement and allow commanders with extremist sympathies to avoid action.

This CLE will focus on:
1. The reality and extent of racism in the military, DoD claims of equality notwithstanding
2. Personal experiences with racism and raising challenges to racist behavior
3. The Military Equal Opportunity complaint process, including definitions and standards, procedures, appeals and
the problem of retaliation
4. How practitioners can strengthen MEO and other complaints and provide support to clients in these cases.