‘A Chained Slave’: Black Sailor Targeted with Racist Memes for Years Had SEAL Badge Revoked, Now the Navy Is Giving It Back and Going After the Men Who Tried to Silence Him
After two Navy SEALs created racist memes about a Black sailor on their platoon that were shared for years, they and their platoon and team leaders are finally facing disciplinary action that could threaten their positions or end their careers entirely.
According to The Associated Press, two enlisted members on SEAL Team 4 based in Virginia made the racist memes that depicted a Black sailor on their platoon as a slave and then sent the content to other members of their team in a group chat.
A defense official who spoke anonymously to AP reported details about the ongoing investigation into the memes.
The victim reported the incidents earlier this year, years after the memes had been developed and sent to his other platoon members starting in 2022.
According to the victim’s attorney, the racist content was sent in a group chat on the Signal instant messaging app.
“This was a very shocking case of explicit and repeated racist memes directed at our client in a platoon-wide text thread,” said Timothy Parlatore, the sailor’s lawyer. “They modified his face in photos to look like a monkey and portrayed him as a chained slave on a slave ship, among others.”
The Black Navy SEAL had his qualifications and SEAL trident revoked last year. He stated that his failure to remain a SEAL was directly connected to the racist treatment. He filed more than a dozen complaints about the racist treatment, roughly half of which were substantiated by naval officials.
Officials from Naval Special Warfare Group 2, who directly oversee SEAL Team 4, said his SEAL qualifications are being reinstated, and he will also receive back pay.
During the probe, officials discovered that because the platoon and Team 4 leaders never sufficiently addressed the sailors’ concerns, they erred in their decision to revoke his qualifications.
Those leaders are facing administrative actions that could determine if they continue as SEALs.
As for the two platoon members who created and first shared the memes, they will face non-judicial punishment and punitive letters in their files, which could result in demotions, loss of pay, or their terminations. Other actions are still pending.
The Naval Special Warfare Command acknowledged the investigation into “serious allegations of unprofessional conduct within one of our commands” and said “accountability actions are ongoing.”
It added that “we are dedicated to fostering a climate of dignity and respect, and after conducting a thorough and fair investigation, we will hold anyone found responsible of misconduct accountable.”
Data provided to AP shows that as of March 2021, 95 percent of all SEAL and combatant-craft crew officers were white and just 2 percent were Black. Of the entire Navy population, roughly 40 percent of the enlisted force and 24 percent of its officers are non-white.
Military ranks could wane in diversity as the Trump administration and the Department of Defense end DEI initiatives across the U.S. armed forces and scale back on recruiting efforts at programs and events that boast more diverse talent pools.