WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, has been trying to figure out when people stopped feeling shame.<\/p>\n
On Thursday night, ahead of President Joe Biden\u2019s speech celebrating the 75th anniversary of President Harry Truman\u2019s executive order<\/a> desegregating the military, Cleaver told Biden that he feels like the country is re-litigating the issues of that time. He said there doesn\u2019t seem to be a sense of shame around discrimination any more, the way there was for many years.<\/p>\n But he can\u2019t seem to place when the sense of shame disappeared.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hearing now from African Americans more than any time, maybe in my adult life, who are saying all of our hard won freedoms are now in jeopardy,\u201d Cleaver said last week. \u201cBecause I don\u2019t see any I don\u2019t see many Republicans standing up and pushing against what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in July, far-right members of the U.S. House were able to secure amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act \u2014 the annual bill authorizing the Department of Defense\u2019s programs \u2014 that eliminated funding for the military\u2019s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, restricted abortion rights for women in the military and restricted transgender healthcare for military members.<\/p>\n And then last week, the Senate passed with bipartisan support its own version of the NDAA, which included an amendment from Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican, that required an audit of the Department of Defense\u2019s DEI office and prevented any new hires in the office until the audit is finished.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so strange that it just so happens that this week we will be celebrating Truman, who he thought was paving the way for future freedoms,\u201d Cleaver said. \u201cHe never imagined, I don\u2019t think, that the old battles would come again.\u201d<\/p>\n Truman\u2019s name was heard frequently in Washington last week, as the Truman Library Institute held events across town marking the 75th anniversary of the executive order.<\/p>\n The order came on the heels of World War II, when many Black veterans were fighting for \u201cDouble Victory,\u201d victory over the fascist governments overseas and victory over racism and discrimination at home. Pressure from Black voters and violence against Black veterans spurred Truman, the grandson of slave owners, to create a Civil Rights commission that offered concrete recommendations, like calling for equal voting rights and for the Department of Justice to create an office that would focus on violence against Black Americans.<\/p>\n When Congress failed to act, Truman issued two executive orders \u2014 one desegregating the federal workforce and one desegregating the military.<\/p>\n In his speech at the National Archives Thursday night, Biden marked the significance of the order, saying it made the military stronger. He said he believed America was still in a \u201cforward march toward its North Star.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut something dangerous is happening. I\u2019ve worked across the aisle my entire career; I think my colleagues will attest to that. I have good friends that are Republicans. We disagree,\u201d Biden said, before referencing his friendship with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Republican Party used to always support the military,\u201d he added. \u201cBut today, they are undermining the military.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to criticize Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, who is holding up more than 300 Senate confirmations of Department of Defense nominees because over the military\u2019s policies on abortion. He also mentioned Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, criticizing him for holding up a fist in solidarity to protesters on Jan. 6, 2021 <\/a>shortly before the Capitol riot,<\/a> and Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, for saying the military is becoming less capable.<\/p>\n \u201cFrankly, they have no idea what in God\u2019s name they\u2019re talking about,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n Schmitt, a freshman who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been vocal about his opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as conservatives have increasingly pushed back on diversity initiatives in schools, particularly efforts to provide a more nuanced view of historic injustices in the United States.<\/p>\n Neither Schmitt, nor Hawley attended the Truman events in Washington \u2014 the Senate voted late into the night on both Wednesday and Thursday.<\/p>\n At the Capitol, Schmitt said he believes that the military should have people from all races and genders and that the military should be doing more to recruit from historically black colleges and universities. But he said he believes there is a difference between having a diverse military and DEI.<\/p>\n \u201cDEI is a philosophy based in cultural Marxism where you divide people, you separate people,\u201d Schmitt said. \u201cIt\u2019s this sort of race essentialism. And I think that\u2019s disruptive. I think that\u2019s poison in our military, which has been this great meritocracy. So that\u2019s my objection. It\u2019s divisive.\u201d<\/p>\n