Civil Rights Movement Part Two

By David W. Marshall
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

The late Gen. Colin Powell will always be remembered and respected as a trailblazer. As the son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell devoted more than 50 years to public service. He held senior military and diplomatic positions across four Republican and Democratic presidential administrations. Rising to four-star general, Powell’s time as a U.S. Army soldier is marked by many notable military awards, including the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

He served as President Ronald Reagan’s national security advisor before serving as the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the youngest officer to serve in that position, at 52, in 1989 for President George H.W. Bush and in 1992 for President Bill Clinton. Gen. Powell was appointed Secretary of State by President George W. Bush after being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He was the first African American to serve as secretary of state. At the time, it was also the highest rank ever held by an African American in the United States government.

Gen. Powell exemplified the true meaning and reasons behind the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement. In today’s political climate, the politically moderate Powell would easily be labeled a “DEI hire” and likely fired by the Trump administration. Powell overcame obstacles and barriers associated with systemic and institutional racism when moving up the military ranks. He did so with leadership, honor, and determination.

The origins of DEI can be traced back to the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 60s. Activists fought hard against age discrimination, racial segregation, and discrimination. They fought for equal pay and women’s rights. The purpose of the DEI movement, then and now, is to combat institutional racism and discrimination to create equitable workplaces and schools.

With the rise of the MAGA movement, the social gains obtained in the 60s and 70s are strategically being removed. With the elimination of built-in safeguards, openings are now created that allow the once-suppressed Jim Crow factions of society to return in full force. The social injustice for which the DEI movement was created to oppose and defeat never died. Sadly, the Jim Crow faction, once centered throughout former Confederate states throughout the South, is now a national MAGA movement entrenched in our federal government. While laws such as the Equal Pay Act, Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Equal Rights Amendments responded to the need for social and economic equality, laws do not automatically change hearts and minds. Some individuals silently maintain long-term resentment of the fact that we live in a diverse society where everyone has the basic rights of equal treatment and opportunities.

As a trailblazer in the Department of State, Gen. Powell made it possible for Condoleezza Rice to become the second Black Secretary of State. As a trailblazer in the Army, Gen. Powell made it possible for Gen. Charles Q. Brown to become the second Black person to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In an unprecedented purge of the military’s senior leadership, President Trump announced he was dismissing Gen. Brown.

Earlier, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of the Navy. Hegseth called Franchetti a “DEI hire” in his 2024 book. One would not be surprised if that were a major reason for Trump selecting Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense. Removing the second Black man to serve as the nation’s most senior general and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff sends a strong signal to any respected and qualified person of color and woman in the military. Jim Crow has returned with a 1950s boldness. Efforts toward achieving diversity and inclusion in the military may be a thing of the past. How does removing Gen. Brown as the highest-ranking Black officer impact current officers of color with career aspirations to move up the military ranks? How does the removal of Admiral Franchetti impact women officers with the same career aspirations? Will their future promotions only be seen as “DEI promotions”?

Hegseth has promised to remove “woke” programs from the military, referring to an over-emphasis on diversity. Blacks have often turned to the military for jobs, educational benefits and upward mobility. In many cases, young people choose military service as a family tradition. If Trump and Hegseth seek to make the military reflect MAGA beliefs, then we have truly returned to the Jim Crow era. If that’s the case, we are in part two of the Civil Rights Movement.

David W. Marshall is the founder of the faith-based organization, TRB: The Reconciled Body, and author of the book God Bless Our Divided America.

This article originally published in the March 3, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.