On Offense with Kris Goldsmith

On Offense with Kris Goldsmith

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How White Americans Can Support—and Honor—Black Veterans

Trump, Hegseth, and Collins are trying to erase Black military history and weaken equal treatment in the ranks and at the VA. Here’s what to do about it.
Kristofer Goldsmith's avatar
Kristofer Goldsmith
Feb 04, 2026

It’s Black History Month.

And if you’re white—whether you’re a veteran or not—this is a moment to stand up for our sisters and brothers in arms. Black veterans have earned honor and equality in this country, and the Trump administration is trying to erase both.

I’m a white veteran, and I know it’s my responsibility to share this terrible truth: Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and VA Secretary Doug Collins are treating Black veterans’ history—and Black veterans themselves—as a problem to be managed instead of Americans to be respected.

These racist policies and practices—paid for by every taxpayer and implemented by the government that’s supposed to represent and serve all of us—have escalated fast, and far too few white people are talking about it.

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What the erasure looks like right now

Here are a few concrete examples reported over the last year. This is what “anti-DEI” looks like when it hits real institutions and real people:

  • Arlington National Cemetery’s website: Educational materials about Black service members were scrubbed from the site, including content about the Tuskegee Airmen and Gen. Colin Powell. (Mother Jones)

  • A broader Pentagon purge of “DEI” content: Reporting and commentary describe public affairs officers deleting or removing content that acknowledges Black, Latino, and women service members—including webpages about notable graves at Arlington and an article about Jackie Robinson’s WWII service that was removed and later reposted. (Rolling Stone)

  • Black History Month and “identity months” inside DoD: Coverage of Hegseth’s directives describes bans on official support (including duty time/resources) for Black History Month and other cultural observances. (Houston Chronicle/MSN)

  • Targeting senior Black leadership: Trump abruptly fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs last year, after Hegseth had publicly argued in 2024 that firing him would be the first step to rooting out DEI. (Mother Jones; Capital B)

  • Targeting policy that disproportionately impacts Black troops: The Army moved to phase out grooming waivers for pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB/ingrown hairs)—a condition that disproportionately affects Black men—prompting concerns inside the ranks that the change is racially motivated and untethered to any tactical purpose. (Mother Jones)

If you’re trying to understand the pattern: it’s an effort to make the institution look “color-blind” on paper while making it harder for Black troops and veterans to be seen, promoted, protected, treated fairly, and honored in practice.

And when you do that, you’re not just erasing history—you’re setting the conditions for discrimination to get worse in the present.

We’ve seen how that damage compounds over time. When Black veterans were shut out of equal access to the GI Bill and VA home loans after WWII and Vietnam, the damage didn’t stop with one generation—it shaped wealth, opportunity, and health outcomes for families for decades.

Veterans make up a huge share of the federal workforce. Black women have long been overrepresented in that service—and they’re often among the first to feel the impact when leadership starts treating “equity” as a dirty word.

And the broader truth we have to make sure those around us understand: from before the Revolutionary War through today, Black service members and veterans have been denied equal treatment. That shows up in promotions. It shows up in discipline. It shows up in the way combat-related and service-related disabilities (including MST, TBI, and PTSD) get weaponized against people.

It also shows up in the most damning statistics that measure our military’s history. During the Vietnam War, while Black Americans made up roughly 10–12% of the U.S. population, in 1965 they accounted for nearly 24% of the Army’s fatal casualties. (Library of Congress; African American Veterans Monument)

So here’s what I want from you.

If you’re a veteran—especially if you’re a white veteran—or if you’re any patriotic American who’s furious about this, stand with Black veterans.

Support Black-led veterans organizations. If you can donate, do it. If you can’t, you still have power:

  • Follow them online.

  • Sign up for their email list.

  • Pay attention when they issue calls to action.

  • Share their asks with your people.

Do it now—early in Black History Month—so you’re already connected before the next wave of attacks.

And if you’re a white veteran, treat this like a duty to your sisters and brothers: when discrimination is tolerated in the ranks or at the VA, it poisons unit cohesion, damages readiness, and breaks faith with people who volunteered to serve.

And when this administration is out of office, we’re not just going to “restore” what they damaged. We’re going to build something better: a country that honors Black patriotism with equal treatment, equal dignity, and equal justice.

Black veterans nonprofits to follow

Sources (recommended reads)

Welcome (new readers)

If you’re new here: welcome. This community is for people who want to fight for democracy without just playing defense.

If you haven’t read it yet, start here: Organize Locally: How Antifascist Book Clubs Can Build Power → https://onoffense.substack.com/p/organize-locally-how-antifascist

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