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Last week, the Department of Defense removed multiple pages of famous minority figures in military history, the most famous of which happened to be the page of trailblazing MLB Hall of Famer, Jackie Robinson.
Now while the removal of Jackie Robinson’s page was the catalyst for writing about this, I want to also list some other figures that were removed in this DEI purge, as their achievements are just as important and cannot go without mention.
Multiple Negro League baseball players had their pages removed. Civil rights activist Medgar Evan’s also had his page removed from the Arlington National Cemetery website. In terms of other minorities, pages about the Navajo Code Talkers, Tuskegee Airmen and mariners at Iwo Jima were also removed.
These pages were later restored, but not without pressure from journalists. Jeff Passan sent out multiple tweets not only putting pressure but telling the story of Robinson’s military service. Passan showcased how Robinson was court-martialed for refusing to board the back of the bus — more than a decade before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.
As much as this administration and government would like things to be race blind, they simply cannot be. When talking about these icons we are able to recognize their service while also being able to reflect on American history. Jackie Robinson served his time in the military in a segregated unit known as the Black Panthers.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot reiterated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s notion that DEI is discriminatory and blasphemous.
What’s discriminatory is removing pages that speak on the history of racial integration in the military, such as this page on the history of racial integration in the military. What doesn’t promote inclusivity is removing all sorts of pages on famous military heroes of a minority race.
Without DEI you go back to the days that make Robinson’s and Evan’s achievements extremely noble in a time filled with racism and discrimination. These people love to talk about diversity ideology destroying unit cohesion in today’s times, but without it you simply get the 1940’s again. It is impossible to talk about these heroes’ achievements and not mention race or gender, since it was rare for these people to even have the opportunity to accomplish achievements.
When you erase and ignore the parts that make these heroes achievements special it makes it entirely meaningless. Jackie Robinson gains absolutely nothing in his story if you view it from a colorblind perspective. It doesn’t matter if it’s the military or a baseball team in which he became the first African American to play in the MLB.
We need to push back against this erasure of history, as it’s important to recognize the role racism played in holding back minorities, and the importance their race plays when you tell their stories. To do otherwise, like the Trump administration is doing, is racist and pathetic and shows exactly why we need DEI.
Stone O’Bryant is a columnist. Contact him at [email protected].