(Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch announced last week that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on behalf of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, Inc. (STARRS) against the U.S. Department of Defense for U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) records regarding “systemic racism,” as well as records of critical race theory at the Academy (Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, Inc. v U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:22-cv–02894)).
Judicial Watch filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the USAFA refused to respond adequately to two FOIA requests about its race theory materials.
In its complaint Judicial Watch explained to the court that STARRS asked for records relating to a July 8, 2020, memorandum issued by the USAFA superintendent which stated, in part, that: “[s]ystemic racism exists in our society, and our USAFA community is not immune.” The memorandum also stated that there would be “an institutional assessment and review for biases within our policies, processes, practices, curriculum, and artifacts … [that] will be used to make tangible, lasting changes, and to inform future actions.” The lawsuit also seeks records about any CRT training of USAFA cadets.
Founded by a group of distinguished retired military officers, STARRS is concerned about efforts to teach and implement aspects of CRT in U.S. military academies and throughout the U.S. Armed Forces. STARRS has grown to 2,932 members, including general officers, service academy graduates, retired and active-duty officers and enlisted, and concerned civilians (https://www.starrs.us/).
According to U.S. Air Force retired Lieutenant General Rod Bishop, STARRS’ Chairman of the Board, and the STARRS leadership team, each of which served decades in uniform: “The USAFA’s superintendent’s claim of systemic racism at the Academy did not comport with our experience. So, we filed a FOIA request to learn more from the assessment he demanded. This was not a complex request. The continuing refusal to respond to this request speaks volumes.”
“Our military is being undermined from within as the rising leadership at the Air Force Academy attacks America and force feeds cadets repackaged Marxist anti-American critical race theory,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
Judicial Watch in July 2022 sued the U.S. Department of Defense for records related to the United States Naval Academy implementing critical race theory in the training of naval recruits.
In June, Judicial Watch received of records revealing critical race theory instruction at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.