The Pentagon has told all military leaders and commands to remove and check all library books related to diversity, anti-racism, or gender topics by May 21, according to a memo sent out on Friday.
This is the most wide-reaching and detailed order yet in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s efforts to remove diversity and equity programs, policies, and materials from the military. It follows earlier actions to take hundreds of books out of military academy libraries.
The Associated Press got a copy of the memo, which was signed by Timothy Dill, who is currently doing the job of the defense undersecretary for personnel.
Hegseth also sent another memo Friday to military academies, telling them to admit students only based on merit — “with ‘no consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex.’” He emphasized the word “no” but said schools could still consider “unique athletic talent,” previous military service, or students from military prep schools.
He said service secretaries must confirm within 30 days that their admissions offices are following these rules. The academies are also required to rank student applicants by their “merit-based scores” within each nomination group.
These groups include students with military parents, those whose parents died or were hurt in service, and those nominated by the vice president, senators, or members of Congress.
The memo on the book removals says that educational materials in the libraries “promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology are incompatible with the Department’s core mission.” Leaders must “promptly identify” and set aside such books by May 21.
By that date, the memo says, more instructions will be given on how to go through the list and decide what should be taken out and what should happen to those books. It does not say whether the books will be stored or destroyed.
Donald Trump gestures at the mediaA temporary Academic Libraries Committee, created by the department, will help with the review and decisions. This group gave a list of search terms to help find books that need to be looked at.
These terms include: affirmative action, anti-racism, critical race theory, discrimination, diversity, gender dysphoria, gender identity and transition, transgender, transsexual, and white privilege.
Early last month, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed almost 400 books after being told by Hegseth’s office to take out materials that promote DEI.
About two weeks later, Army and Air Force libraries were told to check their shelves for books related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Naval Academy’s removal included books on the Holocaust, feminism, civil rights, and racism. It also removed Maya Angelou’s autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” based on a list of 381 books taken from the library.
Other books on the list include “Memorializing the Holocaust,” about Holocaust memorials; “Half American,” about African Americans in World War II; “A Respectable Woman,” about the public roles of African American women in 19th-century New York; and “Pursuing Trayvon Martin,” about the 2012 shooting of the Black teenager in Florida that sparked concerns about racial profiling.