Naval Academy honors its first Black female graduate
Mines among 5 midshipmen to earn distinguished honors
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The summer before Janie Mines’ senior year in high school, Congress first authorized women to attend service academies.
The following year — in 1976 — after graduating from Aiken High School in South Carolina, Mines was one of the first 81 women admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy. She was the only Black woman. Four years later, she became the first Black woman to graduate.
In a ceremony Friday, Mines and four others were honored with a Distinguished Graduate Award medal — bestowed on those who have given their lives to service, demonstrated strong moral character and made contributions to the country.
The other recipients: Kevin W. Sharer, class of 1970; General John R. Allen, class of 1976; Vice Admiral Derwood “DC” Curtis, class of 1976; and Lt. Bradley W. Snyder, class of 2006.
“I literally had to fight my way in the door,” Mines said as she described an academy that was predominantly white and entirely male before she arrived. Her arrival meant the academy had to adapt to the changing times.
“Being a professional officer as a woman was something new. And so the academy, as well as I, had to evolve,” she said. “To get accustomed to the idea and understand that whether it was a man or a woman, you can step up and do the job.”
As a midshipman, Mines was a member of the fencing team, squad leader, midshipman drill officer and regiment adjutant. Her younger sister, Gwen, was admitted to in 1977.
Janie Mines left with a rank of ensign and a degree in general engineering.
A knee injury while at school cut short her dream of joining the Marines. She instead served at the Naval Training Center Orlando followed by stints at the Pentagon naval annex and aboard the USS Emory S. Land.
Mines remains an important part of the academy’s culture by mentoring junior officers, serving on ad hoc committees and regularly speaking at extracurricular clubs or special events such as Black History Month.
In 2018, Mines published “No Coincidences: Reflections of the First Black Female Graduate of the United States Naval Academy,” which recounts her journey through a series of lessons she hoped could help younger midshipmen deal with the rigors of the academy.
In the late 1980s, Mines left the Navy to earn a Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has held numerous management positions at corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Hershey Foods and Bank of America.
Mines received numerous civic awards over the years and served as a torchbearer in the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. She also founded Boyz to Men, an organization aimed at helping young men get an education and prepare for their futures.
Mines, who lives in her native South Carolina, has been an inspiration for mids who have followed in her footsteps.
In November 2020, the academy released a video announcing Sydney Barber as commander of the Brigade of Midshipmen for the Spring 2021 semester. Barber mentioned Mines as one of the people who made it possible to attend the academy.
“Those are the things that motivate me, just knowing I’m standing on the shoulders of giants, and I hope one day I can also be the giant that someone else can on my shoulders, too,” said Barber, who was the first Black female brigade commander.
Curtis, another honoree, said he thought he was being pranked when he received the call that he would be given the Distinguished Graduate Award.
“It just shows that your hard work and dedication pays off,” said Curtis, who lived with his family in Annapolis for about 10 years before moving to Odenton.
Born in Chicago, Curtis was recruited to the academy to play football, served as regiment commander and sang with the gospel choir. He graduated the year Mines arrived in 1976.
After commissioning, Curtis attended the Surface Warfare Basic School in Newport, Rhode Island. He later earned a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University and is a graduate of the National Defense University.
During a 35-year military career, the retired Navy vice admiral was the first Black commander of U.S. Naval Surface Forces and held six other operational command positions. He also founded and served as an adviser to numerous nonprofits, including Men Aiming Higher, a basketball league based in Annapolis that pushes at-risk young men into leadership positions.
He was a senior mentor to the Navy Football Brotherhood, a longtime committee member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees and a founding member of the Naval Academy Minority Association, according to the academy release.
All four of his children are graduates of the Naval Academy.
This was the 23rd year the academy has held the distinguished graduate ceremony. Including the five new honorees, 100 alumni have now been given the award.
Allen is a retired four-star Marine Corps general who served as the 79th Commandant of Midshipmen from 2002 to 2003. He was the first Marine to hold that position. He was appointed by President Joe Biden as a new member of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors in February.
Sharer served two tours on nuclear submarines and enjoyed a successful business career after his military service. He was a founding member of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Board of Directors.
The youngest of the honorees, Snyder, was deployed to Iraq in 2008 in an explosive ordnance disposal unit. He was injured by an improvised explosive device in 2011, which led to him losing his eyesight.
Despite his injury, Snyder would go on to win several Paralympic gold and silver medals in swimming.