By Selma | AuxBeacon News Contributor

[Editor’s Note: We received this letter in our inbox. Thank you for your contribution.]

To AB Editors,

The CAP Board of Governors has no Hispanics, no African Americans, no Asians, no people of color even though Latinos are the biggest minority in the United States. African Americans lost the ground they gained under Maj Gen Charles Carr, with one African American board member compared to zero in the past few years.

With an ALL white majority, the CAP Board of Governors (BoG) is far from reflecting the racial diversity of the Civil Air Patrol. Whites make up 100 percent of the BoG.

At the recent National Conference in Baltimore, Maj Gen Mark Smith and his executive staff had an heavy emphasis on diversity, but where is the diversity he professes??? I think we can all agree that it wouldn’t hurt Maj Gen Mark Smith if he signed up for a little diversity training. However, repeat after me: It doesn’t change the behavior of those in power.

The same can be said for the lack of diversity on the 2019 CAP National Cadet Advisory Council (NCAC).

And the same can be said for the lack of diversity on the 2019 CAP Cadet Spaatz Association.

It’s important for the CAP membership and general public — particularly people who might never have had to experience racism — to understand that it’s hurtful and deliberately “offensive.” This harks back to anti-black sentiment and efforts to depict some groups, especially people of color, as “ghetto trash” who are not part of the whole — they are “the other.”

This leads me to briefly discuss the story on Larry Julian’s racist Facebook remarks. His blatant attack on African Americans and the Democrats were hurtful while the CAP BoG and Maj Gen Mark Smith turned a blind eye. Julian still holds his position as the southeast region chief of staff.

And I cannot forget Richard Greenwood’s deliberate attack on African American Army veteran Capt. Michael Bell. Bell had legitimate concerns of discrimination and racist remarks by the Georgia wing commander, Col. Richard Greenwood. To protect his six, he quickly trumped up false charges on Bell with a year-long termination process. This unnecessary stress added to his injuries he acquired during the Iraq war. This helped accelerate his untimely death. No disciplinary action was ever taken against Greenwood and the CAP “white boys” who targeted him.

It is very painful for people of color, many of whom have experienced Julian, Greenwood and others, to hear the CAP Board of Governors ignore our plights. Clearly, from the photos, African Americans are NOT welcome at the upper echelons of the Civil Air Patrol. Instead, we want this story to shine a light on that pain.

Respectfully,
[Redacted]

Related Stories:
• Discrimination Complaint Reprisal in Georgia Wing
• Maryland Wing Civil Air Patrol Stays Lily White by Evasion
• Racist Values Tolerated in Civil Air Patrol’s Southeast Region
• Trash-Talk Indoctrination in Civil Air Patrol

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2019 CAP “ALL White” Board of Governors

AIR FORCE APPOINTED MEMBERS
• Mr. Robert E. Corsi, Jr., Vice Chairman
• Lt Gen James K. McLaughlin, USAF (Ret.)
• Maj Gen Sandra Finan, USAF (Ret.)
• Brig Gen Kenneth P. Ekman

CAP APPOINTED MEMBERS
• Col J. Bradford Lynn, CAP, Chairman
• Col Curtis Boehmer, CAP, Member-at-Large
• Lt Col Thomas Vreeland, CAP, Member-at-Large
• Col Dale Newell, CAP, Member-at-Large

INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION APPOINTED MEMBERS
• Mr. George Perry, United Parcel Service
• Ms. Stacey Bechdolt, VP, Safety & Operations/Regulatory Counsel, Regional Airline Association
• Ms. Martha King, Co-Founder and Co-Chair, King Schools Inc.

ADVISORS TO THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
• Maj Gen Mark E. Smith, CAP Chief Executive Officer
• Col Mark A. Wootan, CAP-USAF Commander

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
• Mr. John Salvador, CAP Chief Operating Officer