Timika and Elise Lindsay pose with their class rings May 26, 2023, in Annapolis, Md., at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation. They are the first mother-daughter duo to graduate from the academy since its inception in 1845. (U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation/Facebook)
(Tribune News Service) — Timika Lindsay and Elise Lindsay recently became the first Black mother-daughter duo to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in its 177-year history.
Timika, a retired Navy Captain, and her daughter, Elise, who graduated May 26, knew this moment was coming long before it happened.
For Timika, who graduated from the academy in 1992, watching her daughter walk across the stage, diploma in hand, made the moment sweeter, she said. It was a reminder of her family’s long history of service to the country, dating back to World War II.
Timika’s father served in the Marine Corps and the Navy, her grandfathers served in the Army, and her nephew serves in the Navy and Air Force. Her children’s father, who died a few years ago, was a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps, and his uncles were among the first Black men to enlist above the rank of Messman when they joined the Navy’s B-1 band in 1942.
“We do believe what the Pledge of Allegiance says and what the Constitution says,” Timika said. “That’s what we fight for.”
Her daughter, Elise, after completing her training this summer, will report to Sasebo, Japan, where she will serve onboard the USS America (LHA-6) as a surface warfare officer.
“I think she will do well in going back to Japan,” Timika said, pointing to the time she took Elise and her younger son, Eric, to live there from 2015 to 2017. “I believe we’re in the Navy to see the world.”
Timika, meanwhile, will continue to enjoy her homecoming. When the Paulsboro, N.J., native retired in 2021 — after a 30-year career in the Navy — she returned to Gloucester County to be with friends and family.
At the time of her retirement, Timika was the highest senior-ranking female officer in the Navy, serving as chief diversity officer. She was concurrently the Naval Academy’s director of DEI, spearheading several initiatives that led to improvements in diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Where we are today is a lot better than where we were 50 years ago,” Timika said. “But we can’t stop here.”
Timika continues her work in DEI with the recent opening of her consulting business, Anchor Leadership Positions. Although she has retired from the Navy, she is still heavily involved.
“My family will tell you that I faked my retirement,” Timika said, pausing to chuckle. “And somehow secretly I’m still working for the Navy.”
Timika is a trustee on the USS N.J. Commissioning Committee, the director of leadership and development for the Naval Academy Minority Association and the Freedom to Serve chair for the National Naval Officers Association.
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