The 1st Black Female Brigade Commander At Naval Academy: ‘I Have The Heart To Do It’

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November 19th, 2020

Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber, from Lake Forest, Ill., is slated to be the U.S. Naval Academy’s first African American female brigade commander. It’s the highest student leadership position at the academy.

MC2 Nathan Burke / United States Naval Academy

Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber will become the first Black woman to serve as brigade commander at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

It’s the top leadership post for midshipmen — in civilian terms, the equivalent of a student body president — and she is the 16th woman to serve in the position in the 44 years women have been allowed to attend the Naval Academy.

Poised to take over the role next semester, Barber tells NPR’s All Things Considered that there was a time when she had no desire to attend the Naval Academy.

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