1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

The recent removal of historical content from federal websites, directed by the Trump administration, poses a grave threat to our democratic principles. Notably, the Pentagon has erased tributes to the Navajo Code Talkers and the Tuskegee Airmen, pivotal figures in our nation’s military history (Midland Reporter-Telegram, March 2025; Express News, March 2025). Such actions mirror tactics of authoritarian regimes. For instance, Stalin’s Soviet Union systematically altered historical records to control public perception (The Institute of World Politics, April 2019). Similarly, the National Park Service’s recent removal of references to transgender individuals from the Stonewall National Monument’s website exemplifies this troubling trend (them.us, February 2025). Scholars warn that erasing historical records undermines society’s ability to learn from past mistakes, thereby weakening the foundations of a free society (Northern Illinois University Law Review, 2020). The American Historical Association emphasizes that such censorship effectively erases people and institutions from history, leading to a distorted understanding of our past (AHA–OAH Joint Statement, March 2025). Furthermore, businesses complying with governmental pressures to censor or alter content risk creating environments of distrust and stifled innovation, eroding employee morale and compromising the integrity of publicly accessible information (AJE, 2023). I urge all federal and state governments, along with organizations engaged in public contracts, to uphold the principles of transparency and historical integrity. Resist directives that seek to censor or erase historical records, as such actions are antithetical to the values of a democratic society. Preserving an accurate and unaltered historical record is essential for educating future generations and maintaining the health of our republic. https://dl-rapidbot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/attachments/1/918e/b881/918eb881-1fea-45dd-8c7a-ab7f2882b679.php