Arlington National Cemetery said it is updating its website to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order to remove all mentions of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, or DEI.
A prominent historian is raising concerns over the removal of educational materials and pages highlighting African American, Latino and women veterans.
“Arlington embodies an incredibly important history for all Americans,” Boston-based historian Kevin Levin said.
The cemetery is sacred ground with a rich history that leaves many visitors, like Angie O'Donnell and her family, speechless.
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“It makes me feel in awe of people that have done this and who have sacrificed and it makes me feel grateful,” said O’Donnell, who is visiting from Florida.
Now as thousands of spring breakers make their way to Arlington National Cemetery to pay their respects, some worry the cemetery’s website has become the latest casualty in an ongoing culture war.
“I was tipped off by a fellow teacher,” Levin said.
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He and the military news outlet Task and Purpose were the first to report prominent pages with specialized educational themes had gone missing after Trump's executive order banning DEI.
“Subjects like the civil war, women’s history, even Hispanic history, reconstruction…” Levin said. “Walking tours of Arlington National Cemetery, profile pages of prominent Black Americans, prominent women in American history who are buried at Arlington, and those pages have either been deleted or… essentially walled off.”
For example, an archived version of the website from January shows “African American history at Arlington,” but now that page is no longer there under the “Themes” section of the website.
Levin said those pages have become valuable tools for educators across the country.
“Not every teacher can bring their students to a place like Arlington National Cemetery… But you can bring a little bit back to your classroom.”
In a statement to News4, a spokesperson for Arlington National Cemetery said, “We are actively working to update our educational content in compliance with Executive Orders issued by the President and Department of Defense Instruction. We want to clarify that no service members have been permanently removed from the ‘Notable Graves’ section of our website. The individuals from prior categories such as ‘African American History, Hispanic American History, and Women’s History’ can be found in other categories such as ‘Prominent Military Figures’ or ‘Science, Technology & Engineering,’ based on the person’s historical contribution to our nation.”
“Perhaps they will be republished at some point as they claim they will,” Levin said. “But we don’t know what those revised lesson plans will look like.”
