The Pentagon issued a memo directing all military leaders and commands to pull and review books that address anti-racism, diversity, or gender issues from libraries operated by branches of the military. He initially focused on removing any so-called pro-DEI reading material from libraries within DOD-run schools.

The memo is perhaps the Department of Defense’s (DOD) broadest and most detailed directive so far in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s campaign to rid the military of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and materials. 

The Associated Press (AP) obtained a copy of a memo which, signed Friday by Performing the Duties of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Timothy Dill.

The memo on the latest library purge states educational materials at base operated libraries “promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology are incompatible with the Department’s core mission.” The memo directs department leaders to “promptly identify” books that are incompatible with these guidelines and sequester them by May 21.

The memo doesn’t mention what will happen to these books or whether they will be stored or destroyed, only stating that additional guidance will be provided on how to cull the initial list and determine what should be removed.

The memo indicates that the DOD will set up a temporary library committee to provide information on the reviews of and decisions upon reading material. The committee will set up a list of search terms to identify which works should be pulled for review.

These search terms include: affirmative action, anti-racism, critical race theory, discrimination, diversity, gender dysphoria, gender identity and transition, transgender, transsexual, and white privilege.

Books being purged include Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which explores Angelou’s experience as a black youth living in the southern United States during Jim Crow-era segregation.

Other books in this purge detailing the experiences of African American women in the 19th and 20th century include Half American, about African Americans in World War II; A Respectable Woman, about the public roles of African American women in 19th century New York.

Additionally books about the Holocaust written by survivors trying to make sense of their trauma or those memoralizing the victims of the horrific event where purged including Memorializing the Holocaust.

Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — representing 12 plaintiffs from U.S. military schools —brought up a lawsuit against Pete Hegseth in his official capacity as Defense Secretary for ordering the removal of over 400 books from DOD school libraries. The plaintiffs argue that removing these books violates students’ First Amendment rights and denies these students the same educational opportunities as students in public schools.

On the same day that Dill issued his memo, Hegseth released a memo ordering military academies to admit students solely based on merit with “no consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex”, underlining the word “no.”