The day before Black History Month began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered any recognition or observance canceled, according to a Pentagon news release.
In a release titled “Identity Months Dead at DoD” Hegseth ordered all military departments and components to cease recognizing or celebrating every cultural history or heritage month.
“Going forward, DoD Components and Military Departments will not use official resources, to include man-hours, to host celebrations or events related to cultural awareness months, including National African American/Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month,” the news release says.
According to the statement, such observances “divide the force” and “put one group ahead of another.”
Hegseth’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Army veteran Kristofer Goldsmith is the founder of the Task Force Butler Institute and Veterans Fighting Fascism. He said targeting events that recognize the contributions of minority groups to the military send a clear signal.
“They’re not saying ‘no more lessons about Chesty Puller (or) Audie Murphy,” Goldsmith said. “They’re saying no more lessons about the Tuskegee Airmen. That is a deliberate choice — and it is a racist choice.”
The Air Force briefly removed a video on the Tuskegee Airmen from its basic training curriculum after President Donald Trump’s executive order banning all material related to diversity, equality and inclusion from the federal government.
The videos have since been reinstated.
Goldsmith said the orders are especially harmful because the U.S. military is a diverse institution.
“The (U.S.) military is the most diverse organization on the planet,” Goldsmith said. “It is really harmful — not just (for) our military and readiness for combat — but culturally for the United States.”
The military recruits people from all over the country — many from communities of color. Goldsmith said these moves could affect who joins and who stays in the military.
The orders against the observances came just days after Trump singled out transgender people in uniform in an executive order. In the order Trump directed the Pentagon to again ban trans people from service within 60 days.