A biography about Jackie Robinson’s military service temporarily disappeared from the Pentagon’s website on March 19, 2025. This occurred amid what the New York Times describes as “the Trump administration’s effort to scrub references to diversity and inclusion” from government websites.
This isn’t an isolated incident. According to the NYT report, several pages highlighting African American achievements vanished from military sites. Pages spotlighting Black and female service members also disappeared from the Arlington National Cemetery’s website.
The military’s history with racial integration offers powerful lessons about institutional change. President Truman’s Executive Order 9981, which desegregated the armed forces in 1948, came just one year after Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier as the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball.
Robinson’s experience of being arrested for refusing to sit at the back of an Army bus, a fact mentioned in the now-restored Pentagon biography, directly connects to later civil rights struggles against segregation.
Removing context about figures like Robinson strips away the connections to our shared history, and the removal of these pivotal figures isn’t an isolated event.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot said, “DEI is dead at the Defense Department,” in celebration of the department’s “rapid compliance” anti-DEI policies.
This systematic removal of historical content raises serious concerns about censorship. The military has a documented history of unequal treatment of minorities, and we should question attempts to delete history. As Rep. Yvette Clarke noted regarding the Robinson page removal: “History is history. At the end of the day, they’re only fooling themselves. The history is written in terms of the contributions that African Americans have made to the development of our country.”
The temporary removal of Jackie Robinson’s story from Pentagon websites represents a concerning pattern that extends beyond simple administrative changes.
Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, emphasized that Robinson’s significance transcends diversity initiatives, stating it would be “atrocious” to suggest Robinson’s rise was simply a “DEI story.” Kendrick noted, “Jackie Robinson epitomizes what it means to be a great American. His breaking of the color barrier wasn’t just a part of the civil rights movement. It was the beginning of the civil rights movement.”
We must remain vigilant about how history is presented and preserved. While major policy changes make headlines, these quieter removals of historical content deserve our attention. The censorship of words and history can limit our understanding of America’s complex past and enable harmful patterns to repeat.
Digital archives have become our modern historical record. Unlike physical books that remain on library shelves regardless of political shifts, digital content can vanish instantly, often without public awareness. This makes monitoring government websites and digital archives crucial.
We should also question the false dichotomy being created between celebrating military achievement and acknowledging diversity. Jackie Robinson was both a military veteran and a Black man challenging segregation. His identity cannot and should not be artificially separated into “acceptable” and “unacceptable” components for political convenience.
What does erasing challenging aspects of our history accomplish?
It promotes ignorance and restricts our ability to learn from past mistakes. We should question why these changes are happening and recognize patterns of language restriction that may ultimately infringe on First Amendment rights.
Historical erasure has real consequences. When we lose sight of how institutional discrimination operated in the past, we become less equipped to recognize similar patterns in the present.
Stay informed about what’s happening beyond the headlines. The preservation of our complete history, including its difficult chapters, is essential for building a more just future.
The Pentagon’s quick restoration of Robinson’s page after public outcry demonstrates that citizen vigilance can be effective. This incident reminds us: only when we pay attention and speak up can the democratic government be held accountable to the people.
