A congressional hearing on racial harassment at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, has been cancelled because the commandant of the Coast Guard declined to testify.
The hearing was supposed to address a report released last month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that found the academy didn’t respond to allegations of racial harassment.
The report said cadets used racial slurs, posed with a Confederate flag and watched a blackface video. It highlighted the academy’s history of harassment, and said cadets are underreporting it — in part because they’re afraid of reprisal.
The chairs of two House committees called the commandant’s refusal to testify disappointing in light of recent protests against systemic racism.
A spokesperson for the Coast Guard Academy said the service will testify at a time and venue that aligns with established procedures.
