The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, has purged hundreds of books from its library — including “How to be Anti-Racist” by Ibram X. Kendi — as part of a push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-related content.
The Naval Academy weeded out these books on March 31, in keeping with instructions from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, following executive orders from President Donald Trump.
The Naval Academy also threw out another book Kendi authored, “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” as well as “Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America,” by former Georgia Rep. Stacey Abrams.
Kendi, the former founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, attracted national attention in 2020 for his books following the 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police officers.
NAVAL ACADEMY TOSSES 400 BOOKS FROM LIBRARY FOLLOWING TRUMP DEI EXPULSION ORDERS
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi speaks onstage during Netflix’s “Stamped From The Beginning” world premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Sept. 9, 2023 in Toronto. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Netflix)
Kendi joined Boston University that year but announced in January that he would head to Howard University to continue his research instead. Meanwhile, Boston University is poised to shut down its research center in June once contracts expire.
The Naval Academy also purged “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by American writer and poet Maya Angelou, an autobiography detailing Angelou’s childhood and life during the Jim Crow era.
Other books booted by the Naval Academy are “Women with Mustaches and Men Without Beards: Gender and Sexual Anxieties of Iranian Modernity” by Afsanah Najmabodi; “Critical Race Theory and Education: A Marxist Response” by Mike Cole; “Men in Wonderland: The Lost Girlhood of the Victorian Gentleman” by Catherine Robson; and “Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex” by Elizabeth Reis.
Although Trump’s January executive orders banned DEI content in K–12 schools receiving federal funds, military service academies were exempt since they are not classified as K–12 institutions.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in January that the Pentagon would comply with all orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the Department of Defense. (Reuters/Yves Herman)
However, Hegseth’s office instructed the service academy to eliminate the materials ahead of a visit to the institution on April 1, The Associated Press reported. It is unclear if Hegseth issued the directive himself or if it came from a staffer.
The Navy confirmed to Fox News Digital that nearly 400 books were ditched as part of the effort.
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“We can confirm the U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from their Nimitz Library collection in order to ensure compliance with all directives outlined in executive orders issued by the president,” a Navy spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “Nimitz Library houses roughly 590,000 print books, 322 databases, and over 5,000 print journals and magazines to support the academic inquiries and intellectual development of Midshipmen.”
The U.S. Naval Academy trains undergraduate midshipmen to pursue careers as officers in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
Here is the full list of books the Naval Academy pitched out during the purge:
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report.