Naval Academy Launches Investigation After a ‘Noose’ Was Found Hanging in a Construction Zone
Keith Griffith, Daily Mail, September 10, 2019
The U.S. Naval Academy has launched an investigation after a rope in the shape of a possible noose was found hanging in a construction area.
Officials at the Academy in Annapolis, Maryland said on Friday that they were launching an investigation after being contacted by the Caucus of African-American Leaders.
The loop of rope was found on August 28 in a construction zone in Rickover Hall that is off-limits to faculty and staff, Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean Buck said in a statement.
Buck said while it’s possible the rope was part of a hoisting system to complete ductwork, the academy will investigate it because it ‘takes all allegations of race hate very seriously.’
The Caucus of African-American Leaders, an advocacy group in Annapolis, raised the issue after being contacted anonymously by someone with photos of the alleged noose.
‘We are pleased that a preliminary investigation has been open by USNA officials and that Commander Wallace will head up the investigation,’ Carl O. Snowden, convener of the Caucus of African-American Leaders, told WJZ-TV.
‘Nooses like swastikas conjure up images of a dark past. We appreciate the fact that the U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean Buck has instructed his staff to look into this matter,’ Snowden said.
Snowden said that his group was particularly alarmed because August 28 marks the 56th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech during the March on Washington.
Academy officials said that there were ropes and pulleys being used to install ductwork in the area where the suspicious rope was found.
However, they said they would fully investigate the facts of the matter, including why the incident was not brought to light sooner.
In 2017, the Air Force Academy in Colorado was rocked by a racism scandal in which the words ‘Go home’ followed by a racial slur were found scrawled on the doors of five black students.
That case was determined to be a hoax, after one of the black students targeted by the racist graffiti admitted that he had written it himself.
