Advocates for the restoration of the President’s House slavery exhibit said Tuesday that critical interpretive panels remain missing from the historic site in Old City, days after 3rd Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman granted the Trump administration a partial stay in the legal battle.
The court ruling came hours before the federal government was set to miss a court-mandated 5 p.m. deadline to restore a series of exhibits and educational materials on the history of slavery at the site.
During a media briefing, attorney Cara McClellan, who represents the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, said while parts of the exhibit have been reinstalled, some of the 34 metal interpretive panels that provide historical context have not been returned.
“This tells a story of slavery … the dirty business of slavery in the United States,” McClellan said, adding the missing parts include a timeline of the transatlantic slave trade and stories of abolitionists such as the Rev. Richard Allen.
Video monitors at the site are once again playing reenactments and narratives about the men and women enslaved by George Washington during his presidency in Philadelphia. Some glass panels and plaques have also been restored. But several metal frames that once held interpretive displays remain bare.
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit granted the Trump administration a partial stay of a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe. The stay preserves what the court described as the “status quo” — meaning panels already reinstalled may remain in place, but additional panels do not have to be restored while the appeal proceeds.
The National Park Service and the Department of the Interior have appealed Rufe’s order requiring full restoration. The federal government’s opening brief is due March 13. Opposition briefs, including any amicus filings, are due April 13.
McClellan said the exhibit was created through an agreement between the NPS, the city of Philadelphia and members of the public after years of advocacy. She questioned why parts of the memorial remain absent.
“If we don’t tell the stories of slavery and discrimination, it doesn’t allow us to really grapple with this history and understand how conditions of inequality persist,” she said.
Michael Coard, founder of the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, framed the legal fight as part of a broader debate ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“In order to truly celebrate America in the 250th, you gotta tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” Coard said.
The site remains open to the public. ATAC leaders said they are continuing to give tours to provide what they describe as fuller historical context, and said they plan to monitor what information the NPS is currently sharing with visitors.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the NPS and the Department of the Interior for comment, but we’ve yet to hear back.
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