U.S. Navy shows Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber, from Lake Forest, Ill. Barber is slated to be the Naval Academy's first African American female brigade commander, the U.S. Naval Academy announced Monday, Nov. 9, 2020.ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Midshipman Sydney Barber had her doubts about applying for the top student leadership position at the U.S. Naval Academy. A Black woman had never held the post in the 44 years women have been able to attend the 175-year-old institution.
“This was never something that I dreamed of,” Barber said, adding of Lacy: “She had no doubt in her mind that I was the right person for the job, and hearing her say that and being so confident in that, that really helped me to be more confident in myself.” Lacy remembers having doubts about applying for positions like brigade commander when she was a midshipman. Now an active-duty Navy captain, she said she learned “not to self-eliminate.”
Similar ground was broken at the U.S. Military Academy in New York in 2017, when Simone Askew became the first Black female first captain, the highest position in the cadet chain of command at West Point. Lacy said Mines’ graduation paved the way for her, while Barber’s accomplishment will inspire more young women to both attend and seek top student positions at the academy.
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