June 7, 2025 7:15p
(WGTD)---An Army officer whose trailblazing past as the first African-American woman to become a U.S. Army Major General was erased from Defense Department websites by the Trump administration spoke last week at the Pritzker Museum and Library in Somers.
Marcia Anderson, a Beloit native who currently lives in Madison, didn’t dwell on the website deletions of things having to do with diversity. In fact, she didn’t even mention it during her thirty-minute speech.
Instead, Anderson recounted the obstacles she faced in becoming an officer, and how they made her more determined than ever to succeed.
She also said it’s foolish for the military not to pursue diversity. "If we really want effective national security, our leaders at the highest levels have to recognize that diversity and inclusion is about merit," Anderson said. "It's not about quotas but it's opening the aperture to cast as wide of a net as possible for talent. It's crazy not to."
In a conversation with a reporter afterward, Andersen noted that scholars were the first to notice the missing web pages. As a result of public outrage, many of the deleted pages have been returned, including references to her story.
Anderson told the audience she’s not discouraged. "Despite what's been happening these days, I don't believe all is lost," Anderson said. "When I came along people flat out told me they didn't want me. But I persevered and times change and we evolve as people."
Last week's event at the Pritzker Museum and Library was organized in part by the Kenosha Coalition for Dismantling Racism.
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