Elfreth Honors Women and Women of Color of the U.S. Naval Academy
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), a member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus and Congressional Appointee to the Naval Academy's Board of Visitors, honored the women and women of color of the U.S. Naval Academy, including Commander Janie L. Mines, the first African-American woman to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy; Commander Kristine Holderied, the first woman to graduate as valedictorian from the Naval Academy; Midshipman Kristen Dickmann, a Naval Academy freshman and volleyball player who tragically passed away at the age of 19; and Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber, the Naval Academy’s first African-American female brigade commander.
“I want to be clear that this Administration’s unrelenting and reckless attack on the stories and the history of persistence, diversity, and opportunity only serves to set us back. When faculty at our five world-class service academies are told to avoid divisive concepts like racism and sexism, that only threatens to erase the stories and experiences of these brave women who just wanted to serve our great nation,” said Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth. “I strongly believe that we should have a Navy and Marine Corps that look like our country, where our midshipmen receive an education that teaches the accurate and full history of this nation, where the stories of women and people of color aren’t skipped over, because they are inconvenient. This is all critical to our national security and the strong democratic principles that we embody abroad.”
Elfreth has spoken out forcefully against President Trump’s Executive Orders that roll back DEI programs across the federal government, including at our service academies. Elfreth’s remarks were part of a larger Democratic Women’s Caucus Women’s History Month Special Order Hour.
CLICK HERE to view Elfreth’s full remarks. A full transcript is available below.
Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth
Remarks as Delivered
Floor Speech on Behalf of the Women and Women of Color of the U.S. Naval Academy
March 26th, 2025
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Commander Janie L. Mines: the first African-American woman to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1980.
Commander Kristine Holderied: a Howard County native and the first woman to graduate as valedictorian, not only from the Naval Academy, but from any of the service academies in 1984.
Midshipman Kristen Dickmann: a Naval Academy freshman and volleyball player who tragically passed away at the age of 19 in 2008. Her memory is now honored every single year, for over the last decade, via a tournament in her honor.
Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber: the Naval Academy’s first African-American female brigade commander, who earned that honor not even 5 years ago in 2020.
I share these names, and I share these stories, because they are women and women of color who are an integral part of the rich history of the United States Naval Academy that I have the privilege of representing. But not just of the Naval Academy, they represent our military and, proudly, our nation.
I want to be clear that this Administration’s unrelenting and reckless attack on the stories and the history of persistence, diversity, and opportunity only serves to set us back.
When faculty at our five world-class service academies are told to avoid divisive concepts like racism and sexism, that only threatens to erase the stories and experiences of these brave women who just wanted to serve our great nation.
I strongly believe that we should have a Navy and Marine Corps that look like our country, where our midshipmen receive an education that teaches the accurate and full history of this nation, where the stories of women and people of color aren’t skipped over, because they are inconvenient. This is all critical to our national security and the strong democratic principles that we embody abroad.
It is for these women and the hundreds of thousands more women serving our nation at home and abroad that I am here today. And with that, I yield back.
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