Erasing Service, Undermining Strength : Racist Leadership Practices Return to the Military

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, formally integrating the United States Armed Forces. It was not symbolic; it was strategic. Segregation weakened readiness, limited talent, and contradicted the freedoms American service members were sent to defend. Integration strengthened our military and aligned it more closely with the ideals it represents.

That is why recent actions by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are simply wrong. Reports that Black and female service members were removed from promotion lists, alongside claims that he suggested Donald Trump would not want to stand next to a Black woman general, point to more than just poor judgment. They signal an ignorant and deliberate willingness to revisit discrimination that the military itself rejected decades ago.

African Americans, including my father, uncles, and brother, have always answered the call to serve, even when the nation did not fully serve them in return. From the Buffalo Soldiers to the Tuskegee Airmen, Black troops have been essential in every major conflict. Leaders like Colin Powell and Charles Q. Brown Jr. rose through the ranks not because of preference, but because of proven excellence, discipline, and leadership.

Women have likewise transformed the modern military, rising to the highest levels of command. Trailblazers like Ann E. Dunwoody, Lori Robinson, Michelle Howard, and Nora W. Tyson not only broke barriers but also expanded the definition of leadership in uniform. Their service underscores a simple truth: talent and capability are not confined by race or gender.

At a time of rising global instability, sidelining qualified leaders is not just unfair, it is dangerous. The strength of the U.S. military depends on drawing from the full breadth of American talent. Policies or practices that signal exclusion weaken morale, hinder recruitment, and erode trust within the ranks.

There is also a striking irony in this moment. Secretary Hegseth’s own qualifications have been widely debated, yet he is positioned to make sweeping decisions about who is deemed worthy of advancement. Meanwhile, highly trained, decorated service members, many with decades of experience, are left vulnerable to decisions that appear rooted in bias and racism, rather than merit.

This moment also reflects a broader and troubling pattern. While our nation and state have taken steps to create policies that protect some groups from discrimination, assaults on Black Americans, as in the issue at hand, are increasingly going unaddressed. That imbalance sends a message about whose dignity, First Amendment rights, and whose life is prioritized and whose life is negotiable.

The U.S. military once recognized that racism was not only morally wrong but operationally unsound. That lesson came at great cost, and it should not be forgotten. Reintroducing exclusion, whether overt or implied, dishonors the progress made and the sacrifices of those who fought to achieve it.

While Black Americans are asked to defend this nation in times of conflict, who is going to defend them from an administration and Defense Department leader determined to make America overtly racist again?