On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, many historically important people were erased from the Department of Defense’s (DOD) webpages. This was ordered by President Trump to remove any mentions in the news, videos, articles, etc, that “promote diversity, equity and inclusion,n” according to AP News.

Jackie Robinson was not only a sports hero who broke social norms back then, he also served as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He did so many great things during his time, and it being “accidentally” deleted in the rise of recent events is extremely questionable.

It wasn’t just Robinson who was removed from the website. Including “content honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the Enola Gay, the Navajo Code Talkers, history-making female fighter pilots and the Marines at Iwo Jima,” ABC News reports after talking to a DOD official. 

DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) has become quite the buzz phrase since the start of the Trump administration. When that is typed in the search bar on said webpages, nothing comes up, it is almost like these heroes were scrubbed from history.

Later, Robinson’s son commented, “We take great pride in Jackie Robinson’s service to our country as a soldier and a sports hero, an icon whose courage, talent, strength of character and dedication contributed greatly to leveling the playing field not only in professional sports but throughout society.”

Before this policy, when the name “Jackie Robinson” was typed into the DOD’s website, one feature story appeared, headlined “Sports Heroes Who Served.” After Trump’s order was officially signed, this article was nowhere to be found within this database. 

Wednesday evening, most were republished on the DOD’s website. However, when typing in their names, the acronym “DEI” still doesn’t show up in the URL. Robinson is a major black icon who will still be incredibly important and relevant in the U.S.’s history, whether President Trump wants to erase the nation’s past or not.