State Representative Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport) introduced a new resolution in the Tennessee General Assembly this week that said an Associated Press (AP) article on racism in the U.S. Military was untrue.
The resolution claimed the authors of the article did not use proper statistics in their study on a “culture of racism.”
“This data, provided by the military, actually makes the opposite case that racism in the U.S. military is uncommon and not a largescale problem,” the resolution said.
The resolution added that issues of racism in the military should be dealt with “quickly and severely.” Also, it said the AP article identifies “a problem that does not exist.”
Furthermore, the resolution said the article only represented 0.058 percent of all active-duty service members, and in 2020 only 0.18 percent of active-duty service members who are racial minorities reported discrimination. Due to this, the resolution said it is “grossly incorrect to state that the U.S. military is permeated with ‘deep-seated racism’ and fosters a ‘culture of discrimination.'”
The AP article, if resolved, would “reprimand the AP for engaging in the lowest form of incendiary journalism.”
Kat Stafford, one of the authors of the article, took to Twitter to support her team.
“A Republican state legislator in Tennessee introduced a resolution Thursday in response to our AP investigation of racism in the U.S. military. He accused us of ‘incendiary journalism’ & wants the legislature to ‘reprimand the AP.’ We stand by our reporting,” she tweeted.
A career first: A Republican state legislator in Tennessee introduced a resolution Thursday in response to our AP investigation of racism in the U.S. military. He accused us of “incendiary journalism” & wants the legislature to “reprimand the AP.” We stand by our reporting. pic.twitter.com/PIWx7hbixa
— Kat Stafford (@kat__stafford) January 21, 2022
Stafford continued, “Racism and extremism within the military has been well documented over several decades. Countless studies have been done — and the military itself has acknowledged the problem. We told much of our series through the perspectives and experiences of service members and veterans. My colleagues and I spent nearly a year interviewing dozens of service members and experts — some of whom could not speak publicly out of fear of retribution. We poured over copious documents & FOIAs. We did our homework. No matter how much one tries deny it, racism does exist.”
Racism and extremism within the military has been well documented over several decades. Countless studies have been done — and the military itself has acknowledged the problem. We told much of our series through the perspectives and experiences of service members and veterans.
— Kat Stafford (@kat__stafford) January 21, 2022
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Morgan Nicole Veysey is a reporter for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow her on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Tennessee Capitol” by Tennessee General Assembly.
