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May 27, 2021 5:05 PM EDT
For Stephanie Davis, who grew up with little, the military was a path to the American dream, a realm where everyone would receive equal treatment.
She joined the Air Force in 1988 and steadily advanced over the course of decades, becoming a flight surgeon, commander of flight medicine at Fairchild Air Force Base and, eventually, a lieutenant colonel.
But many of her service colleagues, Davis says, viewed her only as a Black woman. Or for the white resident colleagues who gave her the call sign of ABW – it was a joke, they insisted – an “angry black woman,” a classic racist trope.
May 27, 2021 Share
For Stephanie Davis, who grew up with little, the military was a path to the American dream, a realm where everyone would receive equal treatment. She joined the service in 1988 after finishing high school in Thomasville, Georgia, a small town said to be named for a soldier who fought in the War of 1812.
Over the course of decades, she steadily advanced, becoming a flight surgeon, commander of flight medicine at Fairchild Air Force Base and, eventually, a lieutenant colonel.
But many of her service colleagues, Davis says, saw her only as a Black woman. Or for the white resident colleagues who gave her the call sign of ABW – it was a joke, they insisted – an “angry black woman,” a classic racist trope.
Deep-Rooted Racism, Discrimination Still Permeate US Military
The military’s judicial system has no explicit category for hate crimes, making it difficult to quantify crimes motivated by prejudice.
Kat Stafford, James LaPorta, Aaron Morrison and Helen Wieffering via AP
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Stephanie Davis holds a U.S. flag in the cargo area of a KC-135 airplane while flying over Pakistan/Afghanistan. For Davis, who grew up poor, the military was a path to the American dream, a realm where everyone would receive equal treatment. But many of her service colleagues, Davis says, saw her only as a Black woman. Or for the white resident colleagues who gave her the call sign of ABW â it was a joke, they insisted â an âangry black woman,â a classic racist trope. (Courtesy Stephanie Davis via AP)