The Department of Defense has pulled a number of books from the schools that it operates for children of service members. Among those books is one featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and the children's book Freckleface Strawberry by actor Julianne Moore. The department currently serves 67,000 children of military personnel at its 161 specially operated schools around the world.
In order to comply with President Donald Trump's executive orders banning diversity programs and gender expression, schools operated by the DOD have pulled a number of books from their libraries for "compliance review," as first reported by The Guardian.
Nottage, who is interviewed in the anthology Well-Read Black Girl, where she discusses putting women center stage, reacted in a post on Instagram, saying: "Apparently the Trump administration and the military are threatened by Black women sharing their truth, 'Well-Read Black Girl' is on the list of books banned by the Department of Defense. I am super proud to be part of this anthology by @wellreadblackgirl which is a wonderful collection of diverse, resilient, literary and celebratory Black voices."
Other books under review include The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; the picture book of late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, No Truth Without Ruth, by Kathleen Krull; Hillbilly Elegy by Vice President JD Vance; and Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family, about transgender actor and activist Nicole Maines, written by Amy Ellis Nutt.
Under Trump's executive orders, programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion are banned in federal agencies. Trump also banned anything promoting "gender ideology," which the order defines as "the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex." It also barred the DOD from teaching students that “that America’s founding documents are racist or sexist.”
In order to comply with the EOs, the DOD has also banned cultural observances, according to numerous reports. Its schools have canceled celebrations for Black History Month; events for Women's History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month will also likely be canceled. Schools have also eliminated clubs for women and specific ethnic groups (though religious clubs are still allowed). Trans students have also been barred from participating in sports.
Moore, in an Instagram post, said she was shocked by the news, saying she was also educated in a DOD school: "It is galling for me to realize that kids like me, growing up with a parent in the service and attending a @dodea_edu school will not have access to a book written by someone whose life experience is so similar to their own. And I can’t help but wonder what is so controversial about this picture book that cause it to be banned by the US Government. I am truly saddened and never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right."
This is the latest instance of Trump's executive orders affecting the arts. Last week, the National Endowment for the Arts, which provides funding to theatres and other arts institutions around the country, said that anyone who receives its grants must comply with the EOs banning diversity and gender expression. In response, theatres have begun rejecting NEA funding, and over 400 artists sent a letter in protest to the NEA. Trump has also taken control of the Kennedy Center and has begun cancelling shows there, including a children's musical about a shark who learns self-acceptance and a Gay Men's Chorus performance.
