Watch a Tuskegee Airmen video the Air Force pulled after DEI order

The U.S. Air Force recently removed videos about the Tuskegee Airmen’s history video from its military instruction curriculum following President Donald Trump’s executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across the federal government.

“Some walls are inside your head. Some are inside the minds of others,” the narrator of one of the videos, entitled “Breaking Barriers,” says. “Intolerance. Ignorance. Oppression.”

“An Air Force official told Air Force Times the videos themselves were not targeted for removal, but BMT classes that include diversity materials were pulled and are now under review to make sure they are in compliance with this week’s executive orders,” the military news outlet reported.

That report continued:

“An Air Force official told Air Force Times the videos themselves were not targeted for removal, but BMT classes that include diversity materials were pulled and are now under review to make sure they are in compliance with this week’s executive orders.

“One of those classes, a one-day program titled “Airmindedness,” included videos on the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs, as well as an inspirational-style recruiting video called “Breaking Barriers.”

You can watch the video here:

News that the video was removed has been met with outrage.

“Their heroism is not ‘DEI.’ It is American history. I’m calling on the Air Force to immediately reverse this decision. We will not let our history be erased,” said U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham.

The Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., which shares the history of the historic unit, issued a statement saying they were “disappointed and strongly opposed to the removal of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen’s story from the Air Force’s training course.”

All of the nearly 1,000 Black military pilots who trained in the U.S. during World War II did so in Tuskegee, a city of about 8,700 residents today that is 87% Black.

“The Tuskegee Airmen included more than 16,000 men and women who participated in the training of aircrew members from 1941-1949. Nearly 1,000 were pilots, but they also included military and civilian members, as well as people from all races and nationalities,” that statement continued.

“We believe the content of these courses does not promote one category of service member/ or citizen over another. They are simply a part of American military history that all service members should be made aware of. We call upon the President and the Secretary of Defense to immediately rescind this action and provide clear guidance to all government agencies to restore the courses to their former status.”