“I am old enough to know that it would be interpreted negatively by many white observers. Unfortunately, in their youth and exuberance, it appears they didn’t stop to think that it might have any political context, or any meaning other than their own feeling of triumph,” she said, explaining why she chose not to share the photo.
The raised and clenched fist salute is most famously associated with the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s. However, it has been used as an expression in a number of causes.
Mary Tobin, a graduate, said that she is a mentor to some of the women in the photo. She said she’s spoken to them since West Point launched an inquiry.
“They weren’t doing it to be aligned with any particular movement or any particular party. It was, ‘We did it and we did it together,’” Tobin told CNN.
