West Point Gets First Black Commandant

WEST POINT, N.Y. — The first black commandant of the U.S. Military Academy assumed his post Monday, proud that after 30 years of stellar service he was chosen to direct the 4,348 West Point cadets.

The superintendent of the academy presented the colors to Brig. Gen. Fred Gorden, a rural Alabama native who was the only black in the West Point Class of 1962, in a formal military ceremony in a room named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Gorden, 47, is the first black commandant in the 185-year history of the academy on the banks of the Hudson River, but he played down the importance of his race to his place in history.

“I’m the 61st commander, and I’m also black,” Gorden said.