Jackie Robinson’s legacy vanishes, then reappears on Pentagon site

An article on the Defense Department website devoted to Jackie Robinson’s military career disappeared and then reappeared, joining a series of government webpages on Black figures that have vanished under the Trump administration’s efforts to purge government websites of references to diversity and inclusion.

The brief biography describes Robinson’s childhood in California, his time in a segregated Army unit during World War II and his role in breaking baseball’s color barrier.

But for much of Wednesday, the Pentagon website displayed a “Page Not Found” message in place of the article. When the biography reappeared Wednesday afternoon, there were no notable changes.

The discovery that the page had vanished generated significant backlash Wednesday. “You can’t make this up!” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., wrote on social media.

Rep. Yvette Clark, D-N.Y., who represents the section of Brooklyn where Robinson once played, accused the Trump administration of erasing Black history, and said she would not forget the page’s disappearance.

“It’s painful,” Clarke said in an interview. But, she added: “History is history. At the end of the day, they’re only fooling themselves. The history is written in terms of the contributions that African Americans have made to the development of our country.”

Since President Donald Trump swept into office, a number of pages, sites and resources focused on the achievements of African Americans disappeared from military sites. Some have returned. Others have not.

Pages of the website for Arlington National Cemetery highlighting the graves of Black and female service members vanished. The cemetery, which is run by the Army, has said that it is working to restore content in compliance with Trump’s executive orders, and that it aims to reintroduce content soon.

A Defense Department page featuring the biography of Maj. Gen. Charles Calvin Rogers, a Black Army general who received the Medal of Honor, also disappeared and then was restored.

And for nine days, the Air Force paused the use of an instructional video for trainees about the accomplishments of the first Black pilots in the military, according to the Air Education and Training Command.

John Ullyot, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in a statement that “DEI is dead at the Defense Department,” adding that he was pleased with the department’s “rapid compliance” with a directive ordering diversity-related content removed from all platforms.

“In the rare cases that content is removed – either deliberately or by mistake – that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content accordingly,” he added.

The Pentagon leadership under Trump has made clear its disdain for the military’s decadeslong efforts to diversify its ranks. Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the “single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength.’ ”

Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, said in an interview that it would be “atrocious” to suggest that Robinson’s rise was simply a “DEI story.”

“Jackie Robinson epitomizes what it means to be a great American,” Kendrick said. He added: “His breaking of the color barrier wasn’t just a part of the civil rights movement. It was the beginning of the civil rights movement.”

Robinson was drafted into the Army in 1942 and was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, according to the Defense Department. At one point while serving in the military, he was taken into custody after refusing to sit in the back of an Army bus.

His journey into the majors also started in the segregated section of a bus. He was required to sit in the back on the way to spring training in Sanford, Florida, after signing a minor league contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Robinson endured intense verbal abuse when he integrated MLB during the 1947 season. A standout on the diamond, he played 10 seasons in the majors, all for the Dodgers, and won the National League’s MVP award in 1949.

He died in 1972. For his role in integrating baseball, his number, 42, was retired across MLB in 1997. Every April 15, the anniversary of his debut, the league celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, and every player wears his number.

He is the only baseball player to receive such an honor.

David Robinson, a son of Jackie Robinson, said in a statement Wednesday that he was surprised to learn of the page’s removal, and that he took “great pride” in his father’s military service.

“He worked tirelessly on behalf of equal opportunities, in education, business, civic engagement, and within the justice system,” the statement said, adding, “he of course is an American hero.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.