Pete Hegseth Has Banned 3 of My Books From the US Naval Academy [View all]

[justaprogressive]

Not one, not two, but three of my books have been removed and banned from the United States Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library by the order of President Donald Trump’s appointed defense secretary and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth. The New York Times reports that 378 others were also removed.

Naval students and sailors must feel insulted by Hegseth’s lack of confidence in their intellectual ability to read challenging material that encourages self-examination and renders visible the subtle ways in which racism manifests itself. My books lay a foundation for the capacity to think critically and compassionately about those suffering under the toxicity of racism. Navy sailors need to be able to think for themselves and not be immobilized by fear of speaking out against forms of social injustice.

Some have suggested I should feel honored by the removal. There’s a sense that one has done something right to garner such negative attention. That’s one way of positively framing an alarming situation, but, for me, that sense of honor gave way quickly to frustration, outrage and righteous indignation. I take it that these books were banned because of their capacity to disturb those who’d rather erase certain truths from memory. After all, memory can function as a weapon and threat to those who prefer we forget the horrible history of unfettered power.

The removal of my books is also an attack on my free speech: It is a violation of my First Amendment rights against the government to intervene and engage in censorship. The move is likewise an affront to my civic responsibilities, an injury to my democratic freedom, an assault on the integrity of my written work — a form of silencing that violates my democratic agency to share knowledge, to critique structures of power, and to intervene in processes of racial injustice. Indeed, this censorship isn’t just an act of cowardice but a direct refusal of the mirror I hold up to this country’s racist past and present.

https://truthout.org/articles/pete-hegseth-has-banned-3-of-my-books-from-the-us-naval-academy/