The U.S. National Park Service staff tore down an exhibit on slavery at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia on Thursday, following claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that historical and cultural institutions promote “anti-American ideology.”
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, which was called “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” was dismantled and removed, as shown in footage captured and shared on social media.
The President’s House website said its “outdoor exhibits examine the paradox between slavery and freedom in the new nation.” (The website has not been updated after the exhibit removal, as of this writing.)
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“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.”
The removal of the exhibit follows Trump’s executive order in March 2025 directing the Interior Department — which manages parks, monuments and other designated land — to ensure public property doesn’t contain elements that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
Instead, it said to “focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people” and “the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape.”
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The City of Philadelphia sued the Interior Department and the acting director of the National Park Service on Thursday following reports of the exhibit being dismantled.
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“Without notice to the City of Philadelphia, the National Park Service has removed artwork and informational displays at the President’s House site referencing slavery, presumably pursuant to the mandate in the Executive Order,” the lawsuit reads.
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The suit calls the removal of the displays “arbitrary and capricious.”
“Defendants have provided no explanation at all for their removal of the historical, educational displays at the President’s House site, let alone a reasoned one,” the legal filing says.
The lawsuit also alleges that the National Park Service and the Interior Department “did not engage with the city and do not have the city’s approval to make unilateral changes to the President’s House exhibit.”
The suit is seeking to have the exhibit restored to its status as of Jan. 21, 2026, and a “preliminary injunction enjoining Defendants from taking any action to damage any exhibits, panels, artwork, or other items from the President’s House Site and requiring Defendants to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety, security, and preservation of any such items removed.”
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Trump “will take any opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history.”
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“But he picked the wrong city — and he sure as hell picked the wrong Commonwealth. We learn from our history in Pennsylvania, even when it’s painful,” he wrote.
Donald Trump will take any opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history. ⁰⁰But he picked the wrong city — and he sure as hell picked the wrong Commonwealth. ⁰⁰We learn from our history in Pennsylvania, even when it’s painful. https://t.co/NF794ogN1R
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) January 23, 2026
Philadelphia city council president Kenyatta Johnson criticized the removal on social media, calling it “totally unacceptable.”
“I am also fully supportive of a lawsuit filed by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration on this issue. Removing the exhibits is an effort to whitewash American history. History cannot be erased simply because it is uncomfortable. Removing items from the President’s House merely changes the landscape, not the historical record,” Johnson said in a statement.
“The altering or censoring of the memorial threatens the historical integrity of the site, undermines public understanding of our complete past, and erases the experiences of the enslaved individuals whom the memorial honors,” Johnson continued.
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“Preserving the memorial is critical to both Philadelphia’s historical landscape and the country’s broader understanding of its founding as the nation celebrates our 250th Anniversary this year,” he added.
My statement on the removal of exhibits from the President’s House in Old City. pic.twitter.com/b186BJ4wAg
— Kenyatta Johnson (@CouncilmemberKJ) January 23, 2026
The Interior Department and National Park Service have not yet responded to the city of Philadelphia’s lawsuit.
— With files from Reuters
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