High school world history teacher Hadley DiForti has been teaching her students about Navy hero Doris Miller for four years, highlighting his bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. However, when she went to a Navy website to access information about Miller, she found that it had been taken down, leaving her students upset. This removal was part of a broader effort by the Department of Defense to remove content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, following an executive order from President Donald Trump.
Other military heroes from marginalized backgrounds, such as Jackie Robinson, the Tuskegee Airmen, and General Colin Powell, also had their pages removed, sparking public outrage. Experts in diversity, equity, and inclusion have criticized these actions as historical revisionism that erases the contributions of Black people, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals to military history.
The removal of content related to these heroes has raised concerns about the erasure of Black history and a return to a narrative centered on white heroism. Scholars have drawn parallels to past instances of falsifying American history, warning of the destructive consequences of manipulating historical narratives.
Despite some pages being reinstated following public outcry, many pages, including those about Doris Miller, remain down. The removal of this content has been met with criticism from educators, military personnel, and scholars who argue that it undermines the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion and distorts the historical record.
