In 1976, Janie Mines became the first black woman to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. The Navy fought to keep her and other women out and once she arrived as part of the initial group of 81 women, many of her fellow midshipmen were furious that she was there.
What was her life like for those four historic years in Annapolis? And as she changed the Naval Academy, how did it change her?
Mines has gone on to a long career in business management and consulting but until recently, she had never gone back and collected her thoughts about her time at the Naval Academy. Now, she has put those thoughts in a book called “No Coincidences,” which is about not just those key four years, but the life that prepared her for them.
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Show notes:
- The website for her book
- A story about one of her return visits to the Naval Academy
- Her Wikipedia page
- The Jim Webb story from 1979 referenced in the episode, "Women Can't Fight"
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SouthBound is a production of WFAE. Our host is Tommy Tomlinson. Our producer is Nick de la Canal. Our audience engagement manager is Joni Deutsch, and our main theme comes from Josh Turner.