Ex-General's New Podcast Tackles US History Ahead of 250th Anniversary

A new podcast started by a military veteran highlights the diversity of America’s military and the contributions made by leaders in corporate, higher education, health care and other industries as the nation nears the 250th anniversary of its founding.

Ret. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Don L. Scott hosts the podcast US@250&YOU, which debuted on April 23 as a way to share, highlight how efforts to improve diversity, equity and Inclusion, or DEI, have shaped the country toward the nation’s founding goal of a “more perfect union.”

“I have lived through 16 presidents, World War II, racial segregation, the civil rights movement, Korea, Vietnam, 9/11 and the Gulf Wars,” Scott, the podcast’s creator and host, told Military.com. “I am a living testament to how America has evolved to include all of its citizens."

Scott, who is 88 years old and proudly “an American of African descent,” said he’s grown tired of divisive rhetoric targeting immigrant and minority communities. He felt it necessary to remind anyone who will listen that America is built on the backs of immigrant and minority populations.

“I’m not making a political statement with this podcast,” he said. “What my intentions are is to give the listeners an opportunity to understand what the Declaration of Independence means today. I want to give light to the founders who were not inclusive in 1776, but had the vision to point us toward inclusion.”

Weekly Podcast Tackles ‘National Divide’

Scott’s premise for each of his weekly, 30-minute podcast episodes is that the U.S. is still a country of progress, even as we pause to review our founding principles.

He said he wants to evaluate where those principles are today, and where we want them in the future. 

He’s also directly focused and invested in what he calls the “national divide.”

The internal divisions within the three branches of federal government today represent the most serious threat to American democracy in America’s 250-year history. US@250YOU will provide listeners with expert commentary and insight on why DEI efforts have helped our nation evolve and realize its promise of opportunities for all.

Airing on Spotify, the podcast is part commentary, part history lesson, with Scott and his guests walking listeners down memory lane—including the nation’s contradictory beginnings.

“The founders, several of them were slave owners,” Scott told Military.com. “Yet they had this inspiration that this county that we were building is going to be a nation where all men and women are created equal. That was their ideal.”

He said that over these last 250 years as a country, there have been presidents and others who have worked to make the statement of our founders a reality.

“I don’t want the current political climate to derail our progress as a nation,” he said. “I am so intent on making sure people understand the power of America in creating opportunities for minorities and immigrants. That’s our strength.”

Speaking From Experience

Speaking from a place of authority and experience, Scott shared his own story in his first podcast episode.

He entered the Army in 1960, at a time when there were no African-American generals in the reserves or active forces. But there were several, including himself, by the time he retired in 1991.

“That’s progress, even though it was slow," he said. "It takes 20 years on average to rise to the level of a brigadier general, no matter what color you are,” he said. “I give great credit to Harry Truman, the president who integrated the military. The diversity you see in our ranks today is because of him.”

Scott served 31 years in the Army, commanding thousands of troops in the U.S., Germany, Okinawa and Vietnam. He managed planning for the 1996 Olympics and is a founding director of the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).

Scott also served as the CEO and deputy librarian at the Library of Congress and established The Veterans History Project at the American Folklife Center. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic arts from Lincoln University in Missouri, a master's degree in counseling and human development from Troy State University, and an honorary doctorate from Lincoln University.

He said his hope for the nation’s next 250 years is a land of opportunity, without social barriers.

“I think the United States could become the only nation in the world where race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation does not define who is American,” he said. “Instead, behavior, character, knowledge, and a belief in human equality could be the standard.

"I believe we can get there.”