‘Civil War is too woke’: Trump’s anti-DEI crusade comes for Arlington National Cemetery
Critics on social media expressed disbelief over the Trump administration’s latest attack on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — scrubbing Arlington National Cemetery of information about notable Black, Hispanic and female service members, and topics including the Civil War from its website.
A cemetery spokesperson confirmed to The Washington Post on Friday that it took out internal links that sent users to pages listing “Notable Graves” of Black, Hispanic and female veterans.
The biography of Gen. Colin Powell, the youngest and first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is buried in the cemetery, was among the documents removed. Also impacted: Hector Santa Anna, a World War II bomber pilot, members of the Tuskegee Airmen, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black American to sit on the high court, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
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To boot, the cemetery “completely removed educational materials on the Civil War and Medal of Honor recipients, among other topics,” according to the Post.
A spokesperson for the cemetery told the Post they are “proud of our educational content and programming and working diligently to return removed content to ensure alignment with Department of Defense instruction 5400.17 and Executive Orders issued by the President.”
“We remain committed to sharing the stories of military service and sacrifice to the nation with transparency and professionalism, while continuing to engage with our community in a manner that reflects our core values,” the statement said.
The Trump administration’s move sparked fierce backlash on social media.
“Riddle me this: How do you not mention the Civil War at of all places Arlington National Cemetery?” questioned Michael Li, senior counsel of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU’s School of Law.
“‘Topics such as the Civil War’ are why Arlington National Cemetery exists,” wrote Gillian Brockell, former staff writer at The Washington Post. “Tomorrow they’ll tell us a very nice man named Robert E. Lee just up and decided to give his plantation to the government to bury soldiers on, out of the goodness of his heart.”
She added: “PS Miss me with your ‘we used to have decorum’ s— when Abe Lincoln said bury these dead kids in the mfs backyard.”
“Arlington National Cemetery has removed information on Black, Hispanic, and female veterans to comply with Trump’s anti-DEI orders. They are literally trying to erase us,” lamented Democratic strategist Keith Boykin on Bluesky.
“lol when even the Civil War is too woke,” chided Niko Bowie, a law professor at Harvard Law School.
“Arlington National Cemetery just erased DEI from its website—because Republicans threw a tantrum over honoring ALL who served. The same GOP that cuts Veteran healthcare now decides who’s worthy of remembrance. This isn’t patriotism. It’s whitewashing history,” rebuked the progressive veterans group VoteVets.
“Politicizing Arlington National Cemetery. Feel like it would’ve been a scandal if a Democrat had done it,” remarked Josh Zembik, former communications director for Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT).