MAGA RACISM@WORK: National Park Service Dismantles Slavery Exhibit in Philadelphia

[S. E. Anderson]

National Park Service Dismantles Slavery Exhibit in Philadelphia

The exhibit memorialized nine people enslaved by George Washington. The Park Service said it was being removed in accordance with a directive from President Trump.

An outdoor exhibit on slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia in October. The National Park Service has taken down the exhibit.

 

By Ashley Ahn

nytimes.com

Jan. 22, 2026

The National Park Service has taken down an exhibit on slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, the Interior Department said on Thursday, following President Trump’s directive to remove materials that promote “corrosive ideology.”

The outdoor exhibit, called “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” memorialized nine people enslaved by George Washington at the President’s House Site, where the first president once lived. The exhibit “examines the paradox between slavery and freedom in the founding of the nation,” according to a description on the Park Service website.

Videos and photos of workers removing the panels, including one that detailed the slave trade and slave economy, circulated on social media on Thursday. The exhibit’s page on the Park Service website was still accessible on Thursday night.  ///

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US National Park Service removes slavery exhibit in Philadelphia

 

By Kanishka Singh

reuters.com

January 23, 2026

 

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. National Park Service staff have removed a slavery exhibit from a Philadelphia historic site in line with President Donald Trump's claims, rejected by civil rights groups, of "anti-American ideology" at historical and cultural institutions.

 

The exhibit was at the President's House Site in Independence National Historical Park, where the first U.S. president, George Washington, lived when the Pennsylvania city was the nation's capital. It described the history of slavery and Washington's ownership of enslaved people.

 

The outdoor exhibit was dismantled and removed on Thursday, according to media footage and activists.

 

"The President has directed federal agencies to review interpretive materials to ensure accuracy, honesty, and alignment with shared national values," the Interior Department, which includes the park service, told Reuters in a statement responding to a query on the exhibit's removal.

 

"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."

 

Late on Thursday, the President's House website, opens new tab still said its "outdoor exhibits examine the paradox between slavery and freedom in the new nation."

 

The Republican president alarmed civil rights advocates last year with an executive order that said he was fighting against "a false revision of history.” He has complained about what he casts as excessive focus on "how bad Slavery was."

 

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said "Trump will take any opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history," responding to a video of the dismantling of the exhibits posted by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

 

Civil rights groups say the Trump administration is rolling back social progress and undermining the acknowledgment of critical phases of American history.

 

They have criticized Trump over his immigration crackdown, assault on diversity initiatives, funding freeze on universities over pro-Palestinian protests and attacks against cultural institutions for a focus on slavery.

 

The largest U.S. civil rights group said this month he was being deceptive when he said civil rights hurt white people.  ///

 

 

 

 

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s. e. anderson
author of The Black Holocaust for Beginners
www.blackeducator.org
"If WORK was good for you, the rich would leave none for the poor." (Haiti)
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