Emily Perez, Victim of DEI

Critics of DEI like to say it shields inferior candidates from the limits of their talents. But the Trump Administration is using it as a spear to denigrate the accomplishments of women and minorities

Welcome to another installment of Life Its Ownself. If you like what you read, please 1) smash the Like button at the bottom of this page, 2) subscribe to this newsletter, and 3) tell your 1,000 best friends to read and subscribe. Also, feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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But first, your moment of Zen … a time-lapse photo of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, with star tracks crossing the heavens. Posted February 21, 2023, by Mark Cunningham.

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Monday, April 14, 2025

Happy Birthday to Whitney, wherever she may be!

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A lot of people, especially young women, would love to grow up to be Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez. And that would be challenging, because she was such a beast. Academic star, superb athlete, motivated to excel and successful at everything. Until her life was cut short by an I.E.D. in Iraq in 2006, the sky was the limit for her. But now, the U.S. Army is retconning her, pretending she did not exist, so they could not be accused of being “woke.”

By any standards, Emily Lopez led an amazing life. She was born in Germany, where her father served in the U.S. Army. Her family relocated to Maryland when she was in 10^thgrade. There, she was captain of her track team and founded an HIV/AIDS outreach program at her local church. She excelled in academics, graduating in the top 10% of her class and accepting an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

She had a similarly impressive career at West Point. She was an exemplary student and talented track athlete. Perez set school records as a sprinter, led the school's gospel choir and started a dance squad. She became the Brigade Command Sergeant Major, the second-ranking cadet in the student chain of command. She was the highest-ranking minority woman in West Point history.

After she graduated in 2005, she was commissioned and deployed to Iraq, where she distinguished herself as a leader by volunteering to lead convoys, often traveling in the lead vehicle – the most dangerous spot. On September 12, 2006, she was killed when an I.E.D. exploded under her vehicle as she led a convoy between bases. She became the first black female officer to die in battle in U.S. military history. She is buried at West Point.

Ordinarily, a record of achievement and valor under fire like hers would merit recognition in the military’s pantheon of heroes, and so it was at first. The Army posted a photo of her and a description of her career on its website. Several other military-related websites also extolled her.

But earlier this spring, her tribute was taken down, a by-product of Trump’s executive order that banned DEI and ordered the military to root it out of its culture. It was followed by a memo that specifically ordered the Department of Defense “to remove all DoD news and feature articles, photos, and videos that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).”

There is a logical inconsistency at the heart of both orders: the assumption that a soldier whose patriotism, valor and heroics are beyond dispute is somehow less deserving of honor and acclaim because they are “tainted with DEI” — he or she happened to be black, or a woman, or gay, or (God forbid) trans.

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There is a logical inconsistency at the heart of both orders: the assumption that a soldier whose patriotism, valor and heroics are beyond dispute is somehow less deserving of honor and acclaim because they are “tainted with DEI” — he or she happened to be black, or a woman, or gay, or (God forbid) trans.

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Consider Emily Lopez: Are we to believe that the many accomplishments of her short life – academic success, athletic excellence, leadership demonstrated time and again on the plains of West Point, dying for her country in a war zone – were somehow the product of DEI?

In the Department of Defense’s defense (a phrase I will probably never use again) they claim that they are sweeping the massive troves of information they maintain for evidence of the dreaded DEI, and that when their review is done the tributes to heroes like Emily Perez may reappear. Or, as a spokesbot for the Army said:

In accordance with recent policy changes and renewed digital content guidance, the Army temporarily unpublished webpages dedicated to cultural observance months. We are tirelessly working through content featured on these webpages, and historical articles will soon be republished to better align with current guidance. As this is an ongoing process requiring a manual content review, article restoration might take some time.

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Logical inconsistencies, as you know, are at the heart of policymaking, especially nowadays. But still, it bothered me that the anti-DEI cleaver was chopping so indiscriminately. So I Signaled my friend Vinnie Lamponero and asked him what he thought of the situation. His reply:

Look, she’s a noble hero and all that, but there’s only so many electrons in the universe, and the DoD has to make resource allocation decisions just like all of us do. Can you buy a new car anytime you want? Or a desert island in Micronesia? Of course not — unless you’re a billionaire who cleaned up in that one-day sell-off/buy-back last week!

So the Pentagon had to look at her and ask, “But, was she really a hero?” There are some troubling signs in her biography. In high school, "she founded an HIV/AIDS program” – another example of that DEI/woke nonsense the has brought Western Civilization to the brink of extinction. Even worse, it reveals she was empathetic, which Elon will tell you is the bane of our society.

Oh, it’s great that she got herself into West Point, and succeeded brilliantly while she was there. But, honestly, how many Brigade Command Sergeant Majors have there been? I’m told there’s one every year! Giving her an award is like giving participation trophies to anyone who achieved that rank!

Also, did you notice her last name? Perez? And it says she spent most of her childhood in Germany. Does anyone know if she or her family were here in the USA legally? I happen to know that Stephen Miller is personally directing a high-level investigation into whether she was ever really a citizen!

It’s unfortunate she was removed from the web site, but I am sure there was nothing racist, sexist, misogynistic, or xenophobic about it. And I’d bet Pete Hegseth’s job on it.