Jackie Robinson is remembered as the man who broke baseball’s color barrier, but his military service was also an important part of his story. Now, that part of his history has been erased from the Pentagon’s website as part of a government push to remove content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, also known as DEI.
Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the Army during World War II. He trained as an officer and was assigned to a tank regiment, but like many Black soldiers at the time, he faced discrimination. One of the biggest incidents in his military career happened at Fort Hood, Texas, where he was arrested and put on trial for refusing to move to the back of a bus. He was eventually found not guilty, but the legal fight kept him from being deployed with his unit.
Now, the Department of Defense has removed Robinson’s military story from its website. This comes after the Trump administration ordered all federal agencies to delete any online content that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion. That includes articles, photos, videos, and social media posts.
Robinson isn’t the only Black historical figure affected by this. A webpage about civil rights activist and World War II veteran Medgar Evers has also been deleted from Arlington Cemetery’s website. Evers was assassinated in 1963 because of his activism and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year.
Jackie Robinson’s military service played a huge role in shaping who he was. His experiences with racism in the Army prepared him for the challenges he faced when breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier. Erasing his military history doesn’t change the impact he made, but it does raise serious questions about how history is being told.
