Why Should Black Americans Serve in Today’s Military?; Sen. Lucas Announces New Panel on Trump’s Mass Firings; Youngkin Celebrates End of UVA Diversity Office
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Why Should Black Americans Serve in Today’s Military?
By Phillip Thompson, Esq. As a proud Marine Corps veteran, I have deep ties to military service. My wife served in the Air Force, my father fought in World War II, and my grandfather served in World War I.
Many of my closest friends are veterans, and I regularly gather with fellow Marines over cigars and drinks, reminiscing about our service. My car proudly bears a Marine Corps decal. Service to this nation runs in my blood, and for most of my life, I have believed in the honor and duty of wearing the uniform.
RELATED: Federal agencies bar Black History Month and other 'special observances' (NBC, Feb. 3, 2025)
Yet, as I reflect on today’s political climate, I find myself asking a troubling question: Why should young Black Americans serve in the military under an administration that is openly hostile to them?
My father and grandfather served in segregated units. They endured racism in uniform and faced further discrimination when they returned home. Despite fighting for democracy abroad, they were denied full rights at home. When I served in the 1980s and 1990s, the racial issues in the military were still present, but there was a belief that if we worked hard, we could prove ourselves and succeed. I was even quoted in a 1991 Newsweek article discussing racial issues in the Marine Corps, a stance that ultimately cut short my active-duty career. Yet, despite the challenges, I remained proud of my service.
Under Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and even Bill Clinton, Black service members were not always treated fairly, but we did not face outright hostility from military leadership. Today, that has changed. Under Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the environment in the military for people of color has deteriorated dramatically. The kind of hostility my father faced in the 1940s and my grandfather in the 1910s has returned—not as overt, but no less insidious.
Below: Associated Press, March 7, 2025
The campaign against so-called “woke” culture in the military is not just about policy; it is a thinly veiled attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts that have made the military more representative of America’s population. The vehement rhetoric against “wokeness” often carries a barely concealed undertone, as if those using the word wish they could say something else. More disturbingly, they are erasing the accomplishments of Black service members from military history, downplaying or outright ignoring the contributions of units like the 369th Infantry Regiment—the Harlem Hellfighters—and the Montford Point Marines.
Given this reality, why should young Black Americans sign up to serve under an administration that neither values their contributions nor respects their presence? Why should they risk their lives defending a nation that refuses to defend them from discrimination and erasure?
I know that Black Americans who join the military are built differently. We do not scare easily. We embrace challenges. We serve because we believe in something greater than ourselves. But service is a sacrifice, and we must ask ourselves: Is that sacrifice worth the unappreciated disrespect that will inevitably come under this administration?
It is a difficult question, but as I sit here today, the answer is probably no.
Trump Fires Federal Workers: Sen. Lucas Announces Special Subcommittee
“I have appointed a Special Subcommittee on Federal Impacts to Resources. The first meeting will occur on April 2nd,” State Senator and Senate Finance Chair L. Louise Lucas announced on social media yesterday.
The subcommittee will be the Senate version of the previously announced Emergency Committee on the Impacts of the Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions by Speaker Don Scott.
Virginia's emergency committee in the House will be touring around Virginia starting this Spring.
Gov. Youngkin Celebrates “Bravery” of Closing Diversity Office at the University of Virginia
On Fox News on March 8, Gov. Glenn Youngkin celebrated the closing of the diversity office at the University of Virginia. Though Governor Youngkin has declared that everything is now “merit based” at the University of Virginia. The Board at UVA is made up of a majority of Youngkin employees.
Gov. Youngkin defeated former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2021 in part because of a focus on getting “critical race theory” out of schools - even though there was no critical race theory in schools. The MAGA-led GOP is now in overdrive to define “diversity” to mean lack of “merit.” UVA’s student population is 6 percent Black. The population of Virginia is 20 percent Black.
The Board’s passage of the resolution to end the diversity and inclusion office was discussed in private. University of Virginia Jim Ryan has made no public comments on the decision, which occurred on Friday, March 7, 2025. Under threats of losing federal funding, many universities around the country have closed diversity offices.
Diversity offices seek to promote a diverse workforce of employees in an organization by implementing strategies to attract a wider talent pool. The offices address systemic and historic inequality caused by systemic racism and bias. Members of the Republican Party are working hard and in lockstep against diversity. They are also defining the offices as discriminatory and attributing to them powers they don’t have.
Youngkin’s Education Secretary Aimee Guidera sent a letter to Virginia’s universities to review “policies and practices” that may not comply with Trump’s Executive Order 13985. Trump’s order contained one of the most ironic lines regarding the historiography of Black Americans of any executive order in history.
Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great, Trump’s order read in part.
Neither Gov. Youngkin or the UVA Board has cited how many people UVA’s diversity office hired or had a hand in hiring but a report on their work is due in a month.
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Youngkin needs to go