Marines Say Banning Confederate Flag Is Only One Step To Confronting Racism In The Corps

From the time Marine recruits enter boot camp, they’re told that the service is colorblind — that there are no white Marines, brown Marines or Black Marines. Everyone is Marine green.
“That statement, I’m totally against. And I explain it to a lot of the leaders,” said Stephon Williams, who retired from the Marines in 2014. “When you tell people you’re all green, it’s like saying I don’t see color. If you don’t see color you don’t know who is on your team. So I have to know that as an Asian Marine, I know the cultural challenges you’re going to have in the Marine Corps.”
After the death of George Floyd, Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, called on the Marines to have a conversation about race. The Marines reinforced the point by following up with specific guidance to the commandant’s order in February to ban Confederate flag symbols from throughout the Corps. KPBS talked to a number of Marines who say this has always been a difficult conversation to have in the Corps.
Williams owns HABU Leadership Development Training in Jacksonville, Florida. As a Marine, he spent a great deal of time facilitating conversations on racial bias in the Corps and for senior leaders in the Department of Defense. He still works with Marine units as a consultant.