Arlington National Cemetery has removed DEI references from its website.

They are not the first of their kind to do so. Under shifting federal policies, many companies have scaled back on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Two days after his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signaled his administration’s stance on DEI. A White House press release outlined executive orders targeting DEI initiatives in federal agencies, schools, and universities. Trump issued a two-week mandate giving schools a two-week deadline to eliminate “racial preferences” in college application essays, financial aid, and hiring or be at risk of losing funding, The Guardian notes.  He also aims to “take steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs,” at the federal level, as AFROTECH™reported.

Since then, more and more companies have begun to shift their policies in alignment. This includes Meta, Amazon, Google, Target, Walmart, and now the Arlington National Cemetery. The Washington Post reports DEI references have been removed from its website, along with internal links related to the Civil War and key Black, Hispanic, and female service members. Previously, this information was accessible under tabs such as “African American History,” “Hispanic American History,” and “Women’s History.”

These internal links mentioned historic individuals such as Gen. Colin L. Powell, the youngest and first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military airmen in U.S. history; and Thurgood Marshall, the first Black individual to serve as Supreme Court Justice who was also instrumental in the “Brown v. Board of Education” verdict in 1954 that ruled against segregated schools, the United States Courts reports.

“It’s incredibly unfortunate,” said Boston-based author and civil rights historian Kevin M. Levin, according to The Washington Post. “This is just the kind of history that we want students to be learning, a history that allows students from different backgrounds to make a meaningful connection with one of our sacred sites.”

Arlington National Cemetery has moved the biographies of these figures to tabs that read “U.S. Supreme Court” or “Prominent Military Figures.” A spokesperson confirmed they are working closely with the Trump Administration to ensure compliance.

“We are proud of our educational content and programming and working diligently to return removed content to ensure alignment with Department of Defense instruction 5400.17 and Executive Orders issued by the President,” the spokesperson told The Washington Post. “We remain committed to sharing the stories of military service and sacrifice to the nation with transparency and professionalism, while continuing to engage with our community in a manner that reflects our core values.”