How Trump Is Betraying Black Soldiers
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It would be consistent with this administration's other policies if part of the rationale was to erode the foundations of Black mobility, to erode the foundation of the accumulation of Black wealth and opportunity, social, political, economic. And the more that you decimate the sort of ecosystem of Black soldiers and Black officers within the military, I think the more you decimate an institution that has served as a mechanism for people to move up socially across generations.
I'm Jane Koston, and this is What A Day, the show that's wishing you a happy Juneteenth.
What is the Juneteenth message and personal family history introduced at the start of the episode?
I am not at work today because it's Juneteenth. And that's the point. of Juneteenth. Thanks for making us a part of your holiday. We've got a great conversation for you. Juneteenth is a holiday to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States and the emancipation of millions of Black Americans held in human bondage. People like my great-great-grandparents. Their grandson, my grandfather, Oscar Koston, served his country during World War II as part of a segregated unit that landed on Omaha Beach during D-Day. He won two Bronze Stars, but always felt as if his country never respected what he sacrificed. Today, nearly 80 years since the U.S. military was officially desegregated, 20% of the armed forces are Black.
But since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the administration has made it crystal clear that Black service members are not to be treated with respect. And while many have made the decision to leave the military, others have decided to stay. So to talk about the impact the Trump administration has had on Black members of the military, I spoke to Clint Smith.
How has the demographic makeup of the U.S. military changed and why does it matter for Black service members?
He's a staff writer at The Atlantic. Clint, welcome to What A Day.
It's good to be here.
You open your piece with the story of Daniel Chappie James Jr., the first Black four-star general in any U.S. military branch. After Trump signed an executive order last year gutting DEI programs across the federal government, people noticed a painting of James Jr. had been taken down from its spot in the Pentagon. What if any explanation was given for the removal?
Well, there wasn't much of an explanation for the removal initially. Initially, they said that it had not been taken down, which was contrary to my reporting and my sources in the Pentagon. And so then we went back to their team at the Pentagon and said, well, we know that that's not true. And then they said it was moved to the fourth floor. from the fifth floor, which we also know hadn't been the case. And then we asked what the timeline was, and then they said it had been moved long before, and they were like, we know that's not the case. And then they said it's been in the last two to three weeks that it's been placed there. And so this is over the course of a week or so of conversation. So for me, it was my first experience engaging the Pentagon in this way and being –
The level of... gaslighting the level of um bad faith that exists from the institution at the moment uh kind of further reinforced so much of what i found in the reporting uh from from so many black officers the way that they uh are lied to that they have their their records and their statements and their positions misrepresented um and i think it gave me a sneak peek into what i imagine so many folks in the military are experiencing right now from a lot of these political appointees.
You spoke with numerous currently enlisted civilian and retired Black members of the military across the armed forces. What did they tell you about how the administration has been working to delegitimize and diminish their work?
Well, I think, you know, for a lot of them, it's been this really sort of difficult experience that has led to a sort of cognitive dissonance. And what I mean by that is These are folks who have dedicated their lives to serving this country. Oftentimes, many of these folks are the second, third, fourth generation in their family to serve in the military. And they are operating in a context in which a sort of
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:50
2
What is the Juneteenth message and personal family history introduced at the start of the episode?
0:50–1:53
3
How has the demographic makeup of the U.S. military changed and why does it matter for Black service members?
1:53–11:48
4
Why was the painting of General Daniel 'Chappie' James Jr. removed from the Pentagon and what was the Pentagon's response?
11:48–18:16
5
How do Black officers describe the administration's treatment and 'gaslighting' within military institutions?
18:16–22:41