SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson took to social media with a message to President Donald Trump to "bring back our history" after his anti-DEI campaign led to the erasure of a prominent Utahn from the list of notable graves at Arlington National Cemetery.
Ironically, it was a move made by the president in his previous term that brought the life of Seraph Young into greater focus.
Young was the first American woman to vote under the women's equal suffrage law that equaled voting rights for men and women. For 82 years, Young Ford's first name was spelled incorrectly on her tombstone until Trump ordered it to be corrected in 2020.
However, as part of Trump's latest attempts to remove DEI initiatives from all federal offices, the Pentagon has deleted several sections from the "Notable Graves' section on the Arlington National Cemetery website, including Women's History, where Young had been listed.
"[Young Ford] is now one of the many women who have been deleted with a click of a mouse. Mr. President, this is not the way. Give us back our history," Henderson wrote.
The Lt. Governor pleaded with Trump online, saying Young and other women no longer mentioned in a special section on the cemetery's site meant more to history than simply because of their sex.
"We don’t celebrate these women because they are women. We celebrate them because of who they were, what they did, what they overcame, and what they mean to us," she added. "We see ourselves in them. They shouldn’t be deleted simply because they are women."
Noting that March is Women's History Month, Henderson made one final plea to the president, asking that his administration right a wrong and honor those who have played a part the state and country's history.
"People who deserve to be remembered. Let’s not relinquish them to the fog of faded memories. Mr. President, give us back our history."
