The U.S. Navy is taking heat from liberals following their decision to remove “woke” books from their reading list that is offered to foster continued education among sailors.
According to a report by Fox News, several books were removed from the U.S. Navy’s Professional Reading Program by Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday, to the disdain and outrage of some on the left.
The updated list released on Friday includes 12 books in the genres of fiction, non-fiction, military, strategy, management, and technology.
The list no longer includes Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist, Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow and Jason Pierceson’s Sexual Minorities and Politics.
Republican members of Congress questioned the wisdom of the books being on the Navy’s recommended reading list, telling the CNO in a letter that the views particularly in How to Be an Antiracist were “explicitly anti-American.”
The Navy officer initially responded by saying it was time Kendi’s book was included because “it evokes the author’s own personal journal in understanding barriers to true inclusion, the deep nuances of racism and racial inequalities.”
“We are driving a fleet-wide campaign of self-improvement,” Gilday said in a statement published Friday. “We must foster an organization that supports and empowers Sailors to have an independent quest for knowledge through reading and information sharing.
“What you know and how fast you learn is relevant in this era of strategic competition.”
A number of Republican politicians applauded the move.
I’m encouraged to have learned that anti-American radical Ibram X Kendi’s CRT manifesto “How To Be An Antiracist” has been removed from the Navy’s reading list. @realchrisrufohttps://t.co/0GqjLDgtuw
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) May 7, 2022
Representatives of the Navy did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the updated list of books that were pulled.
Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction to getting the U.S. military out of woke culture and back into fighting shape.