Books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights, racism, and Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” were among the nearly 400 titles removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s library this week following a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The order required the removal of materials promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, prompting concerns regarding the impact of such actions.
Late Friday, the Navy released a list of 381 books that were purged from the library, marking a significant step in the wider efforts by the Trump administration to eliminate so-called DEI content from federal institutions. These efforts range across various domains, affecting policies, curricula within educational establishments, and even aligning social media narratives with the administration’s directives.
Angelou’s celebrated work wasn’t alone on this list. Titles like “Memorializing the Holocaust,” discussing Holocaust memorials, “Half American,” about African Americans in World War II, and “A Respectable Woman,” detailing African American women in 19th-century New York, were also removed. Other volumes covered topics like racial profiling in “Pursuing Trayvon Martin,” which revolves around the 2012 shooting of a Black teenager in Florida.
The catalog removal extended to books addressing gender identity, sexuality, and transgender issues. Topics on race and gender, such as African American women poets, entertainers wearing blackface, and the portrayal of women in Islamic societies, were particularly targeted, underlining a focused removal strategy.
Further included were books addressing historical aspects of racism, the Ku Klux Klan, and gender and race relations within art and literature. Navy officials used keyword searches to identify approximately 900 books initially for review, according to a Navy statement. Cmdr. Tim Hawkins explained that the final list of nearly 400 books was the result of a detailed examination aligned with Executive Orders issued by the President.
This significant removal occurred just ahead of Hegseth’s scheduled visit to the academy—an event not related to the purge, officials have clarified. The Pentagon has maintained that the academies are committed to implementing President Trump’s Executive Orders fully.
The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, along with the Air Force Academy in Colorado and the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, had earlier escaped President Trump’s executive order in January, which banned DEI instructions for federally funded K-12 schools, due to their collegiate status.
Pentagon attention shifted toward the Naval Academy after media reports emerged indicating a failure to remove DEI-promoting books. An unnamed U.S. official indicated the directive for the review and removal only came late last week.
West Point concluded its curricular review and prepared to inspect library content upon Army directives. Both the Air Force and Naval academies have similarly completed the required curriculum reviews.
The Air Force Academy maintains a practice of continually reviewing its courses, coursework, and related materials to ensure compliance with executive orders and Defense Department policies, as stated by an academy official. Last week, during a congressional briefing, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind of the Air Force Academy mentioned an ongoing course review without specific references to books.
Information from these officials was shared under anonymity. Defense Secretary Hegseth remains determined in his push against DEI initiatives, facing backlash from lawmakers, local leaders, and citizens who contest the removal of military icons and references from Defense Department communications.