Erasing someone from history, known historically as damnatio memoriae (“condemnation of memory”), is the “deliberate, systematic removal of a person, group, or event from public records, monuments, and documents. Common techniques include destroying statues, airbrushing photos, and suppressing historical narratives. This practice is used by authorities to redefine political or historical narratives.”

That it is increasingly clear to this reporter that a country that prides itself on civil rights, liberties, ending racism, fairness and equal opportunity to all minorities, is still such a long way away.

In the last year, the current administration, specifically the Department of Defense has given a mandate, or a directive that Department of Defense and military departments will not use official resources, including man-hours, to host celebrations or events related to cultural awareness months, including National African American / Black History Month, 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.

Service members and civilians remain “permitted to attend these events in an unofficial capacity” outside of duty hours, according to the directive.

But by preventing official celebrations and cultural awareness month, the Secretary of Defense is contributing to the erasing Black military history, along with minority military history as a whole.

Here are a few articles on the subject:

• Identity months’ Pentagon scraps official events for Black Women’s History months.
• Identity months dead at DOD’ as Pentagon bans military tributes to minority heritage
• Pentagon says will no longer mark identity months

This reporter’s involvement with African-American military history happened while working on the motion picture, “Glory.” As I’m second–generation military, I was never taught this in high school or while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. My journey started with the African-American military involvement during the Civil War, on the set of the motion picture.

I became more curious about Black people in military history. While on set, film producer Freddie Fields, unknown to me, recognized I had a true commitment to an idea and vision as I became vested in this project. After the film was completed in 1989, Fields contributed 20 Civil War uniforms that were used in the motion picture to a project that I wanted to begin.

In 1990, my lifelong friend and business partner and I created a non-profit organization, The Walking Ghosts of Black History.  Our organization finds, extracts, formulates, and then presents African-American military history.

The Walking Ghosts Of Black History collaborates with other organizations to ensure that our military history remains prominent and visible.

We are protected by the First Amendment in doing so. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects five fundamental, interrelated Freedoms from government interference: speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition.

There is an expression that “to the victors goes the spoils,” and it is known that the victor will not only take the spoils but rewrite history in favor of the victor.

So my question to you, readers, is: what is your opinion on the erasing of minority military history, from the United States archives?