"But Some of [Them] Are Brave": Identity Performance, the Military, and the Dangers of an Integration Success Story

INTRODUCTION I. RACIAL INCLUSION AND THE FORMATION OF AN "INTEGRATION SUCCESS STORY". II. INTERROGATING INTEGRATION SUCCESS NARRATIVES A. Gender Integration: A Success Story? B. Gays and Lesbians: The Effect of Exclusion on Integration Success Stories C. The Death of Race- and Gender-Consciousness and Integration Success III. ASSESSING THE DANGERS OF PERCEIVED INTEGRATION SUCCESS A. Integration Success and Identity Performances within the Military 1. Myriad Strategies for Managing Multiple Identities in a Colorblind World 2. Ineffective Assistance of Performance? B. A Promotion Data "Snapshot" and the Limits of Integration Success 1. Navy JAG Active Duty Commander Promotions 2. Deciphering the Data: Of Missing Categories and Low Sample Sizes IV. DEFENDING IDENTITY CONSCIOUSNESS: REVISITING THE CASES AND RESURRECTING DEFERENCE? A. Arguing Saunders as Incorrect B. Crafting an Identity-Conscious Solution Under Saunders C. Equal Opportunity, the Courts, and Military Deference CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale. (1) With the issuance of Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman, in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces, effectively signaled the racial integration of the United States military. (2) While this blow to racial segregation was not without enemies, (3) the Order was ultimately followed without crippling, defiant opposition, and it became a harbinger for increased civil rights for people of color, inside and outside the military. (4) With regard to race, and increasingly with regard to gender, the military experiment in social engineering has been heralded generally as a great success. (5) The central point of this Article is to question whether the praise afforded this success story is truly warranted and to explore a disjuncture that may exist between this positive narrative and the lived experiences of service members. Given the number of minorities, in particular African Americans, who have used the military to improve their life conditions, (6) it is with some reluctance that this Article criticizes the praise that has been accorded the organization for its success at including minorities. (7) This Article will suggest, however, that although the Armed Forces have done much to alleviate the effects of racial discrimination and subordination within the Services, some important work remains to be done with regard to managing opportunities for service members across myriad identities. In particular, attention needs to be paid to the unique challenges that face service members disadvantaged along multiple dimensions of difference, (8) such as women of color. Consequently, this Article seeks to interrogate the continued viability of an integration success narrative where there exists disconfirming evidence and in an environment where the most significant challenges to minorities are related neither to bare inclusion nor mere elimination of instances of overt discrimination. Specifically, this Article argues that the military services, like many institutions, must grapple with problems related to unconscious bias, (9) which Professor Lu-In Wang has recently described as "unconscious cognitive and motivational biases that lead us reflexively to categorize, perceive, interpret the behavior of, remember, and interact with people of different groups differently." (10) Belief in the continued veracity of an unchanging narrative of successful integration undermines a commitment to uncovering and solving such problems. …