Following breaking news that the Trump Administration purged nearly 400 books from the Naval Academy Library, including texts on civil rights, the Holocaust, and LBGTQ+ Americans, Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director Karen Darkes released the below statement:
“The Trump Administration’s blatant attempt to erase history is a direct assault on the core principles that make our country strong. By removing works on the Holocaust, civil rights, feminism, and the African American experience, this administration isn’t just suppressing vital American stories, but whitewashing the nation’s complex legacy.
“The removal of these texts is a disgraceful attempt to silence voices that have shaped America’s identity and its ongoing fight for justice, equality, and freedom. To target these stories—particularly those that challenge systems of power and privilege—is to undermine the very ideals of liberty and equality that America is built upon.
“The Trump Administration is setting a dangerous precedent that threatens not just academic freedom, but the truth itself. The Maryland Democratic Party strongly condemns this attempt to rewrite our history and stands united in defense of our shared stories. It’s on all of us to stand firm and protect the narratives that reflect the full spectrum of the American experience.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT.
Associated Press: Maya Angelou memoir, Holocaust book are among those pulled from Naval Academy library in DEI purge
By Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp
April 4, 2025
- Books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” were among the nearly 400 volumes removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s library this week.
- The Navy late Friday provided the list of 381 books that have been taken out of its library.
- The move marks another step in the Trump administration’s far-reaching effort to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies, including policies, programs, online and social media postings and curriculum at schools.
- In addition to Angelou’s award-winning tome, the list includes “Memorializing the Holocaust,” which deals with Holocaust memorials; “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; and “Pursuing Trayvon Martin,” about the 2012 shooting of the Black 17-year-old in Florida that raised questions about racial profiling.
- Other books clearly deal with subjects that have been stridently targeted by the Trump administration, including gender identity, sexuality and transgender issues. A wide array of books on race and gender were targeted, dealing with such topics as African American women poets, entertainers who wore blackface and the treatment of women in Islamic countries.
- Also on the list were historical books on racism, the Ku Klux Klan and the treatment of women, gender and race in art and literature.