The story of groundbreaking baseball legend Jackie Robinson is again being targeted by the anti-DEI policies put in place by the Trump administration. This time, Robinson is being placed alongside people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein, as works related to these figures and more are being removed from the United States Naval Academy.
Secretary of Defense insists military implement anti-DEI orders
The New York Times reported that the Robinson biography is one of approximately 900 titles facing possible removal from the Naval Academy library on orders of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Other titles identified for potential removal include The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. and Einstein on Race and Racism. After the military academies initially interpreted Trump’s anti-DEI orders as only applying to K-12 education, Hegseth insisted that the military training schools also comply with the orders. Hegseth is scheduled to visit the Naval Academy on Tuesday to give a speech.
Cmdr. Tim Hawkins said on behalf of the Navy that “the U.S. Naval Academy is fully committed to executing and implementing all directives outlined in executive orders issued by the president and is currently reviewing the Nimitz Library collection to ensure compliance.” Hawkins added that “the Navy is carrying out these actions with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives.”
Robinson, others targeted for removal since Trump took office
The removal of Robinson’s biography from the U.S. Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning DEI initiatives in the federal government, part of a larger push against diversity measures since Trump took office in January. Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball through his 10-year career with the Dodgers, served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1944. Though his Black tank unit fought during World War II, Robinson was excluded from fighting after being court-martialed for protesting against racial segregation in the military.
This is the second time in March that Robinson’s story has become a target of removal under the anti-DEI policy. An article about Robinson was taken down from the Pentagon’s website, only to be restored after public outrage. Material relating to Navajo code talkers has been taken down as well. In a separate incident, information about the Tuskegee Airmen was removed from Air Force curriculum; it was restored after public outrage grew over the incident.
It remains to be seen whether or not the government will again reverse course concerning Robinson’s biography or the other titles set to be removed by the Naval Academy. But with Trump’s anti-DEI policies targeting everything from college campuses to PBS, more removals and historical whitewashing is likely to occur.
