Navy reverses course on DEI book ban after Pentagon review
In a major reversal, almost all the 381 books that the U.S. Naval Academy removed from the school's libraries have been returned to the bookshelves after a new review using the Pentagon's standardized search terms for diversity, equity and inclusion titles found about 20 books that need to be removed pending a future review by a Department of Defense panel, according to a defense official.
The reversal comes after a May 9 Pentagon memo set Wednesday as the date by which the military services were to submit and remove book titles from the libraries of their military educational institutions that touch on diversity, race, and gender issues using the Pentagon's specific search terms.
Prior to the Pentagon memo standardizing search terms, the Navy used its own terms that identified 381 titles, including titles like "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi, "Bodies in Doubt" by Elizabeth Reis, and "White Rage" by Carol Anderson.
A defense official said that the new review using the DOD search terms found only two or three book titles included in the Navy's earlier search.
The 20 official search terms included in the May 9 memo included: affirmative action; allyship; anti-racism; critical race theory; discrimination; diversity in the workplace; diversity, equity, and inclusion; gender affirming care; gender dysphoria; gender expression; gender identity; gender nonconformity; gender transition; transgender military personnel; transgender people; transsexualism; transsexuals; and white privilege.
"The Navy has reviewed library collections at all Department of Navy educational institutions to ensure compliance with directives issued by the President and Department of Defense," Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, a Navy spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday. "The Navy has identified and sequestered library materials potentially incompatible with the military's core mission, pending the Defense Department's formal review."
"Nearly all of the 381 books originally pulled from the shelves at Nimitz Library are back in circulation," he added.
The Pentagon memo also applied to other academic institutions run by the military services aside from their military academies. For example, the new review identified less than 20 book titles at each of the Navy's three other academic institutions.
Defense officials told The Associated Press that a few dozen books had been pulled out for review by the Air Force for its institutions including the Air Force Academy. It was unclear how many books might have been identified by the Army.
"The Air Force has reviewed library collections at all Department of Air Force educational institutions to ensure compliance with directives issued by the President and Department of Defense," an Air Force spokesperson told ABC News. "The Air Force has identified and sequestered library materials potentially incompatible with the military’s core mission, pending the Defense Department’s formal review."
The Pentagon memo was issued to bring the DOD into compliance with a Trump executive order to eliminate DEI programs.
