The Trump administration replaced an exhibit on slavery this week at the site of George Washington’s house in Philadelphia, installing new panels that critics say sanitizes history.
The official replacement of panels in downtown Philadelphia occurred after hours sometime Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. It follows months of legal challenges and marks a victory for the Trump administration, which has sought to overhaul how federal museums and national parks portray stories of the past.
“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” Mayor Cherelle Parker said. “It was allowed to do this by the decision of the federal court, but that it did so at night shows it understands this action is shameful, that it violates community trust.”
The new exhibit at the President’s House at Independence National Historical Park focuses less on the lives of nine enslaved people who lived at the location with George and Martha Washington. It notes that the first president owned slaves but also emphasizes he privately held anti-slavery beliefs and released his enslaved people after his death.
