When Tarence Bailey Sr. received a formal memo from the Maryland National Guard[1] declining to support a celebration for Frederick Douglass on Saturday, it felt personal.
Not only because Bailey is a descendant of the famous abolitionist, but he is also a veteran who served for 10 years as an enlisted Guardsman with the same reserve component. Douglass' importance to the civil rights movement is well known, but he was also one of the military's most prominent recruiters[2], helping to grow the ranks of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which was one of the first Black units to fight in the Civil War.
The Maryland National Guard, along with an honorary living history unit from that same Massachusetts regiment rallied by Douglass more than 160 years ago, were ultimately barred earlier this month from participating[3] in the famous orator's birthday. Pentagon guidance under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth -- and President Donald Trump -- now orders that the military "must decline events" that celebrate "individuals based all or in part on immutable characteristics."
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"For them to say, you know, we're not celebrating that pretty much because he's Black, and it's Black History month -- he's a patriot," Bailey told Military.com in an interview. "He's a patriot first, and his whole family are patriots first."
Bailey's frustrations aren't unique. Those concerns have grown and are now shared by several relatives of famous Black military figures who spoke with Military.com in interviews. They fear that, due to Hegseth's directions under the guidance of Trump's executive orders, their personal family histories and their sacrifices and contributions may be taken out of public view and praise.
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to restore the names of military bases back to those of Confederate generals. Hegseth signed a memo[5] reverting Fort Liberty[6] to the name of Fort Bragg. While originally named for Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, the defense secretary instead named it for a service member with the same last name.
Trump promised to rid the military of what he deemed "woke" policies, which led Hegseth to issue the memo declaring celebrations of identity months -- such as Black History month in February -- as "dead."
Early into his tenure, Hegseth, after ordering a review of any material that may have promoted diversity, paused lessons related to the historic Tuskegee Airmen. Following public outcry, including from Republican lawmakers, the defense secretary reversed course[7] and made sure the lessons remained, although reportedly not all of the curriculum was added back[8].
Relatives of Black historic figures said the Defense Department's present efforts are aiming to sideline many of those past stories they grew up hearing about their loved ones, and they fear that it will be the military itself that will ultimately suffer by hiding those accomplishments.
The Guardsman
Bailey was not the first Frederick Douglass relative to serve his country. Douglass' sons enlisted in the regiment that the famous orator recruited for, and one, Lewis Henry Douglass, became one of the first Black sergeants major.
As the Guard rejects participating in the Douglass celebration, the new administration has also stepped back from events aimed at recruiting Black Americans. Military.com reported that several services, including the Army[9], Navy[10], Air Force[11] and Space Force[12], pulled out of recruiting at a Black engineering event in Baltimore earlier this month despite a yearslong relationship[13].
Hegseth and other supporters railing against diversity efforts say such policies are divisive and detract from the uniformity of the military. The defense secretary recently said "the single dumbest phrase in military history[14] is 'our diversity is our strength."
Bailey said he doesn't understand the Pentagon's logic when it comes to the decision not to celebrate Frederick Douglass.
"It's only divisive to racists because, because only racists have a problem with Black people and people of color having any type of pride or celebrating their contributions to a nation that we all enjoy," Bailey told Military.com.
Black Americans, Hispanics and other ethnic groups make up a large part of the military's ranks. In 2024, for example, non-white demographics made up 59.5% of the regular Army.
Bailey said events like the Frederick Douglass Birthday Celebration planned for Saturday are opportunities for the military to be present in the community and inspire those who may be inclined to military service.
"The whole thing is asinine, because these are recruiting tools,” Bailey said. “When you have a parade, when the National Guard or big Army or the Marines or the Air Force or the Navy or even the Space Force don their uniforms[15] and go out into the community, there's always going to be a young kid that's going to get inspired and is going to say, 'I want to do that when I get grown.'"
The descendant of Douglass, one of the nation's most prolific recruiters, fears the military will lose out on some of the best and brightest as a result of that decision.
"What they're doing is destroying our military," Bailey said. "They will make us soft, as soft as baby sh--."
The Gold Star Daughter
Marilyn Beecham’s mother frequently showed her pictures of his father, as well as his service medals, in hopes of keeping his memory alive.
Her father, 1st Lt. Newman Camay Golden, was a Tuskegee Airman who was killed in action when she was just nine years old.
Golden had graduated from flight school in 1944, according to an Air Force news release about his life, and he flew the P-51 Mustang during World War II. In March 1945, during an operation, he had to eject from his plane due to a mechanical issue and was captured as a prisoner of war until the American and Allied victory.
He rejoined the fight and was ultimately shot down on Oct. 17, 1951, during the Korean War; he was officially presumed dead several years later.
When Beecham was informed about the initial Pentagon efforts to pause teaching the Tuskegee Airmen's history at Air Force boot camp, the Gold Star daughter was shocked. She's dedicated her life to telling her father's story and said she would be heartbroken if people didn't get to hear of his sacrifice.
"I'm very disappointed in that, because I have been active in trying to let people know who the Tuskegee Airmen were," Beecham told Military.com. "I would like that legacy to continue, not just in my family, but throughout the United States, so people would be aware of what our parents did, because they celebrated themselves by being true to the country and continuing to want to fight for this country. My dad was one of them."
Tuskegee Airmen, like Golden, were Black fighter and bomber pilots, as well as support crews, who fought in World War II. Between 1941 and 1949, upward of 16,000 Black servicemen and women participated in training aircrew members, according to the Tuskegee Airmen Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to education about the group.
Beecham hopes that the stories of the Tuskegee Airmen, including her father, will always be remembered. She said she hopes that's true for anyone who died in battle.
"He was killed in the Korean War for this country and, if anybody should be celebrated, it's the men and women who have given their life to this country," Beecham told Military.com.
The Gregg-Adams Families
Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg's retirement ceremony in 1981 took place at the then-Fort Lee Officer's Club in Virginia. He hadn't forgotten that, just three decades prior, he wasn't even allowed inside the establishment due to segregation.
But in 2023, Gregg became the first living person in recent memory to have an Army installation bear his name, according to the Army. Fort Lee, once named for infamous Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, was renamed in Gregg's honor as well as that of former Lt. Col. Charity Adams. She was the first Black officer in what would later become the Women's Army Corps; she died in 2002.
Gregg, who died on Aug. 22, was the first Black brigadier general in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, as well as the first Black lieutenant general in the Army.
His daughter, Alicia Collier, told Military.com in an interview that the commemoration of Fort Gregg-Adams[16] in Virginia was an important moment not just for her father but, in her eyes, the nation as a whole -- especially because the decision came after a lengthy review by a commission that evaluated the accomplishments of her father and Adams.
"When they named the base after him and Charity Adams, it's a great sense of pride, and it was huge for my dad because he was the first living person to have received that honor," Collier told Military.com. "It did represent a color-blind review, and the decision to name it after him, to me, was an indication that our country had made some strides."
But Collier and a relative of Adams both told Military.com they fear that the base could be renamed under the new Defense Department.
Stanley Earley, Adams' son, told Military.com that a decision to change Fort Gregg-Adams back to Lee would not only neglect his mother's accomplishments, it would be "incredibly divisive" after the lengthy review process.
"To do it now, it means a conscious decision to -- well into the 21st century, to go back and name facilities after the commanders of the Confederacy is sending an incredible message," Early said. "To do such a thing, I'm hoping that they won't seriously consider doing that. It would be very sad if that's the case."
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