Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who spearheaded Donald Trump's anti-DEI initiatives at the Pentagon, urged staffers not to make a fuss around Juneteenth celebrations, according to reporting in Rolling Stone.
Politics editor Andrew Perez obtained an email from Hegseth's office that "requested 'a passive approach to Juneteenth messaging' for the holiday on Thursday commemorating the end of slavery."
The email was sent by "the Pentagon’s Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, which said it wasn’t planning to publish Juneteenth-related content online," Perez wrote.
The date June 19th was declared a federal holiday by President Joe Biden in 2021 after a bill unanimously passed the Senate and received "broad bipartisan support" in the House. It commemorates the day at the end of the Civil War in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas were told that slavery had been abolished throughout the United States.
Dwayne E. Campbell with the African American Veterans Liaison, explained the significance of Juneteenth for Black veterans like himself in an article for VA News, "an official website of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs."
"Juneteenth is not just a day of celebration—it’s a day to remember the price of freedom and the ongoing work needed to preserve it," Campbell wrote. "For Black Veterans, it is a moment to reflect on the sacrifices of those who paved the way, recognizing that military service has always been at the tip of the spear."
He added that "Black Veterans, past and present" stand as a "testament to the resilience of a people who fought for their country even when their country did not fully fight for them."
When Rolling Stone asked the Pentagon for comment on Juneteenth, the outlet was told that the DOD “may engage in the following activities, subject to applicable department guidance: holiday celebrations that build camaraderie and esprit de corps; outreach events (e.g., recruiting engagements with all-male, all-female, or minority-serving academic institutions) where doing so directly supports DoD’s mission; and recognition of historical events and notable figures where such recognition informs strategic thinking, reinforces our unity, and promotes meritocracy and accountability.”
Since taking office, President Trump has vowed to replace diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives with "merit-based" programs.
In a Senate hearing Wednesday, Hegseth declared, “DEI is dead. We replaced it with a colorblind, gender-neutral, merit-based approach, and the force is responding incredibly.”
