An Analysis of West Point's Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2020-2025

By David R. Jackson, USMA ’73

Many West Point graduates don’t realize how strongly the school’s leaders were promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

In fact, the Academy created a detailed DEI plan under LTG Darryl A. Williams to insert DEI principles throughout the entire USMA system—military training, academics, character development, and all USMA support programs.

The new leaders continued using this same plan. The USMA Diversity and Inclusion Plan (2020–2025) shows how DEI was being added to every part of West Point.

This article highlights the main points of the Plan and asks the question “Does the West Point system truly support President Trump’s Executive Order 14151 to remove DEI from all US Government organizations?”

Note: Every quote below is from the official DEI plan. The websites where the public could find this plan have since been taken down by the current administration, but you can view it here (pdf). Further, one has to wonder if the ideology of the Diversity and Inclusion Plan still exists systemically at West Point.

A. Mission and Vision (p. 4)

- - Quote 1: “Create and leverage a diverse and inclusive USMA team to educate, train, and inspire leaders of character capable of effective leadership in a diverse Army.”

- - Quote 2: “USMA is recognized…as the preeminent leader development and academic institution committed to inclusive principles and practices.”

- - Quote 3: “It is important that the United States Military Academy continues to be a place where men and women of different backgrounds, cultures, ideas, and beliefs know and understand that they are valued members at every level.”

Analysis: These quotes show that West Point connected DEI directly to its mission. DEI wasn’t seen as optional-it was treated as a key part of how they built future leaders. This approach doesn’t line up with federal orders that want DEI removed from government programs.

B. Why Diversity Matters (p. 5)

- - Quote 1: “An Army not representative of the nation risks becoming illegitimate in the eyes of the people.”

- - Quote 2: “It is imperative that we leverage all aspects of the nation’s diversity to include gender, ethnicity, religion, education, thought, sexual orientation, and cultural background to create and sustain an inclusive organization that attracts the best the nation has to offer.”

- - Quote 3: “Developing officers who engage and understand American society will foster a better civil-military relationship and assist in shrinking the gap between the military and civilian leaderships.”

Analysis: The plan argued that the Army must reflect the country’s full diversity, or it will lose public trust. This reasoning focused on social and political ideas. It went against policies that discourage using race or identity in federal decisions.

C. Line of Effort #1 & #2: Character Development (p. 9)

- - Quote 1: “Foster an organizational culture that understands and values diversity and employs inclusive practices throughout daily operations and activities.”

- - Quote 2: The Excel Scholars Program “identifies promising cadets from historically underrepresented groups… and nurturing these cadets to compete for post-graduate opportunities.”

- - Quote 3: USMA hosts an annual Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Conference. The desired outcomes are to determine best practices to foster more inclusive behavior scholarship.

Analysis: The school used DEI programs and clubs as part of building character. They were not optional but part of everyday cadet life. This shows DEI wasn’t just supported—it was deeply built into training. These actions went against orders that want to stop identity-based programs in government.

D. Line of Effort #3: Build Diverse and Effective Teams (p. 11)

- - Quote 1: “Actively reach out to underrepresented populations…through formalized recruiting and outreach programs.”

- - Quote 2: “Cadet Leader Development STEM workshops…target diverse student populations and underserved communities.”

- - Quote 3: “Diversity of Talent Search conducts recruitment trips to HBCUs.”

Analysis: This part of the plan focused on reaching out to specific racial and identity groups. Some examples:

- - Black faculty were recruited through a program called DOTS.

- - Programs like CLD STEM and LEADS went to schools with mostly minority students.

- - These efforts put identity first, rather than just looking at merit alone.

While this matched DEI goals, it goes against race-neutral hiring and recruiting policies from the Trump administration.

E. Line of Effort #5: Strengthen Partnerships (p. 13)

- - Quote 1: Partnership with DCA…”ensures diversity clubs and social/cultural programs gain broader exposure.”

- - Quote 2: Outreach to academia…”Ideas concerning best practices of building a diverse and inclusive team are shared and discussed.”

- - Quote 3: “USMA personnel regularly participate in conferences focusing on diversity, inclusivity”…with “Federal Asian Pacific American Counsil (FAPAC), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), (Women of Color (WOC), Black Engineers of the Year awards (BEYA).”

Analysis: West Point partnered with outside groups that support DEI. They also attended events that focused on race and identity.

Instead of removing DEI influence, this section shows the Academy was growing those connections. This goes against rules that try to separate government from DEI activism.

USMA Diversity Inclusion Plan (2020-2025) (pdf)