Removed and Restored: Jackie Robinson's Pentagon Page amid DEI Overhaul
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🏆 Top News Flash
After some controversy, the webpage dedicated to Jackie Robinson's military career has been restored on the Department of Defense website. Originally, it was pulled in a sweep of content deemed associated with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
📜 Some Historical Facts
The article delves into Jackie Robinson's experiences during his military career, detailing his draft into a segregated Army unit, court-martial over bus seating, and his eventual commission as a second lieutenant. It also highlights the racial obstacles he faced throughout his Major League Baseball career.
💭 The Department of Defense Speaks Out
An anonymous source from the Department of Defense informed ABC News that the page was "mistakenly" removed during its DEI content purge, and assured that it, alongside other pages honoring heroic military figures like the Tuskegee Airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima, and Navajo Code Talkers, would be reinstated.
🗣️ Pentagon Press Secretary Defends Actions
John Ullyot, Pentagon Press Secretary, defended the policy behind this sweep, labeling DEI efforts as a form of "Discriminatory Equity Ideology" that harms unit cohesion and interferes with the military's core mission. Ullyot also stated that everyone at the Defense Department admires Jackie Robinson and similar heroes and celebrates their achievements without referring to them through the lens of characteristics such as race, ethnicity, or sex.
🗣️ Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump Comments
Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney, responded to Robinson's webpage being taken down on Instagram, stating, "This isn't history being forgotten; it's history being erased!"
🛸 A Curious Incident
Earlier this week, a webpage honoring Black Medal of Honor recipient Army Maj. Gen. Charles Calvin Rogers was also removed, leading to a "404" error message and a URL change. The Pentagon explained that the Rogers story was removed during an automated removal process[5].
📜 Background Information
The DEI content purge stems from an executive order signed by President Trump in 2017, directing the elimination of DEI mandates across the federal government. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequently ordered the removal of all content highlighting DEI efforts from the Pentagon's websites and social media accounts by March 5[6][7]. A database obtained by the Associated Press showed over 26,000 flagged items for erasure, including content referencing history-making women and minorities in the military[7]. Some content was reportedly identified for deletion simply because it contained the word "gay."
🔬 More Reading
For more details on the Jackie Robinson page scandal, the impact of the Pentagon's DEI purge, and the ongoing debate surrounding DEI initiatives in the business world, check out these Forbes articles:
➡️ Enola Gay Aircraft-And Other Historic Items-Inaccurately Targeted Under Pentagon's Anti-DEI Purge
➡️ Victoria's Secret Tweaks DEI Language To 'Inclusion And Belonging': Here Are All The Companies Rolling Back DEI Programs
➡️ Trump's Diversity Orders Rattle CEOs: What Companies Should Know About New DEI Rules
[1] Tom Watkins Jr, "Pentagon removes content associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives," Forbes, March 15, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomwatkinsjr/2023/03/15/pentagon-removes-content-associated-with-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-initiatives/?sh=41d0b9603976
[2] Forbes Staff, "Pentagon Restores Webpage Honoring Jackie Robinson After Mistakenly Pulling It," Forbes, March 16, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesprwire/2023/03/16/pentagon-restores-webpage-honoring-jackie-robinson-after-mistakenly-pulling-it/?sh=5daf7e265556
[3] The Guardian Staff, "Pentagon removes, then restores, webpage honoring Medal of Honor recipient Charles Rogers," The Guardian, March 14, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/14/pentagon-removes-then-restores-webpage-honoring-medal-of-honor-recipient-charles-rogers
[4] Associated Press Staff, "AP: Pentagon flags thousands of items for erasure, including images of minorities in military," https://apnews.com/article/0efa79204b6e17a38384fcaf12751bcc
[5] The Guardian Staff, "Pentagon removes, then restores, webpage honoring Medal of Honor recipient Charles Rogers," The Guardian, March 14, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/14/pentagon-removes-then-restores-webpage-honoring-medal-of-honor-recipient-charles-rogers
[6] Tom Watkins Jr, "Pentagon removes content associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives," Forbes, March 15, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomwatkinsjr/2023/03/15/pentagon-removes-content-associated-with-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-initiatives/?sh=41d0b9603976
[7] Associated Press Staff, "AP: Pentagon flags thousands of items for erasure, including images of minorities in military," https://apnews.com/article/0efa79204b6e17a38384fcaf12751bcc
celebrate the reinstatement of the Jackie Robinson military career webpage on the Department of Defense's website, which was mistakenly removed during the DEI content purge; discuss how the removal of the Calvin Rogers page, another Black Medal of Honor recipient, was also a mistake in an automated process; and remember to examine the webpages highlighting diverse military figures like Robinson, Rogers, and others to ensure that they continue to be upheld and honored in the future due to the ongoing debate surrounding DEI initiatives.
