Philadelphia sues over removal of slavery exhibit at Independence National Historical Park

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The National Park Service has removed an exhibit on slavery at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order “restoring truth and sanity to American history” in displays at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks.

Crews on Thursday removed the exhibit at the President’s House Site, which included the names and other biographical details about the nine enslaved people who lived and worked there under President George Washington. Informational panels had discussed Washington’s use of slave labor at the presidential mansion in Philadelphia, saying he “knew and trusted” the people he enslaved.

Seeking to stop the permanent removal of the panels, the city of Philadelphia on Thursday sued the Department of the Interior and the department’s Secretary Doug Burgum, as well as acting National Parks Service Director Jessica Bowron.

Last year, Trump ordered a review of all interpretive materials at National Park Service sites “to ensure accuracy, honesty, and alignment with shared national values,” Interior Department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said in a statement to The Washington Post.

“Following completion of the required review, the National Park Service is now taking action to remove or revise interpretive materials in accordance with the Order,” Peace said in the statement.

The removals confirmed what critics have long condemned as the Trump administration’s attempt to erase unflattering aspects of American history.

The order, which Trump signed last March, blamed the Biden administration for advancing a “corrosive ideology” at the nation’s historic sites.

“At Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — where our Nation declared that all men are created equal — the prior administration sponsored training by an organization that advocates dismantling ‘Western foundations’ and ‘interrogating institutional racism’ and pressured National Historical Park rangers that their racial identity should dictate how they convey history to visiting Americans because America is purportedly racist,” the order states.