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Naval Academy Book Removals and Federal Sanctions on Brown University Intensify Censorship Debate

Nearly 400 books, including works by Brown faculty, have been removed from the Naval Academy library, coinciding with financial penalties for Brown University under a Trump administration directive targeting DEI content.

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Overview

  • The U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from its Nimitz Library, including titles by Brown University authors and Maya Angelou’s autobiography, under a directive targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) content.
  • Critics argue the removals, which include books on the Holocaust and Black experiences, compromise the academy’s educational mission and reflect broader concerns about censorship and intellectual freedom.
  • The directive employed a keyword-based culling process, raising alarm among academics about parallels to historic censorship in authoritarian regimes.
  • The Trump administration has also blocked $510 million in federal funding for Brown University, prompting protests from over 600 faculty members and calls for institutional resistance.
  • The controversy has sparked calls for legislative protections, including Rhode Island’s proposed Freedom to Read Act, which aims to safeguard intellectual freedom in educational institutions.