Defense Department restores Jackie Robinson webpage after outcry
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Jackie Robinson, in military uniform, becomes the first African American to sign with a white professional baseball team. He signs a contract with the minor league club in Montreal, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
The U.S. Department of Defense removed — then restored — a webpage featuring baseball and civil rights pioneer Jackie Robinson, who served in the Army during World War II and segregation.
Why it matters: The initial removal of Robinson's Army history comes amid a massive purge of articles about soldiers of color following President Trump's executive order ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The big picture: An Axios review found that some military websites, with several broken URLs now labeled "DEI," have erased information about Native American Code Talkers and Mexican American Medal of Honor recipients.
- The move comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that "DEI is dead."
- The article reappeared following a story by Axios and other media outlets that generated anger online.
Zoom in: The removed article on Robinson discussed his service during World War II before he broke the modern-day Major League Baseball color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
- "On July 6, 1944, Robinson boarded an Army bus. The driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus, but Robinson refused," the article states. It was still accessible on the Internet Archive website before the DOD reposted it.
- "The driver called the military police, who took Robinson into custody. He was subsequently court martialed, but he was acquitted."
- It also delves into how Robinson transformed the MLB and became a Hall of Famer.
What they're saying: "As Secretary Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department," Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot tells Axios in a statement.
- "Discriminatory Equity Ideology is a form of Woke cultural Marxism that has no place in our military. It divides the force, erodes unit cohesion and interferes with the services' core warfighting mission."
- Ullyot said the Pentagon is pleased "by the rapid compliance" across the department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms.
- "In the rare cases that content is removed — either deliberately or by mistake —that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content accordingly."
The other side: Civil rights advocates said this wasn't about woke culture but about erasure.
- "This isn't history being forgotten; it's history being erased!" civil rights attorney Ben Crump posted on Instagram.
Flashback: Robinson broke baseball's modern-day color barrier 78 years ago when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
- His courage paved the way for Black athletes across all sports as he endured racist taunts from opposing white managers and fans and had to travel amid segregation.
- Robinson was friends with Martin Luther King Jr. and spent his post-playing career as a civil rights activist. He also supported Republicans but pulled his support for Richard Nixon as Nixon turned to racist campaigning in 1968.
- He died in 1972 at the age of 53.
Between the lines: The DOD purge follows the Trump administration's reinterpretations of Civil Rights-era laws to focus on "anti-white racism" rather than discrimination against people of color.
- It also comes after the administration announced the federal government will no longer unequivocally prohibit contractors from having segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the DOD restoring the article.
