INDEPENDENCE MALL (WPVI) — When workers pried loose the 34 panels that told the story of the 9 enslaved people who lived and worked at President George Washington’s House on Independence Mall, there was a range of reactions-from hurt and anger to confusion.<\/p>\n
Without the interpretive panels, a mother from North Dakota said she struggled to understand the significance of the site and could not, therefore, explain it to her young son.<\/p>\n
The Presidents House first came under threat, last March, when the Trump administration issued an executive order called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” to look at exhibits in federal parks and museums that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”<\/p>\n
The city of Philadelphia is suing the federal government for breaching a cooperative agreement reached with the National Park Service in 2006, under then President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n
Attorneys for the federal government describe exhibit change as routine and argue the federal government has sole control over the park.<\/p>\n
But federal Judge Cynthia Rufe, an appointee of George W. Bush, disagreed.<\/p>\n
After visiting the site, she granted a preliminary injunction, ordering the Trump administration to restore the exhibit and not further change or damage the site.<\/p>\n
The Department of the Interior has appealed.<\/p>\n
As the case continues in court, there are places you can still learn about African American history:<\/p>\n
African American Museum in Philadelphia<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> Mother Bethel AME Church<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | The Black Journey Walking Tours<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> Lest We Forget Museum of Slavery<\/a> Penn Museum Africa Galleries<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> Pennsbury Manor<\/a> |Facebook<\/a> |Instagram<\/a> Copyright \u00a9 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n
701 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 574-0380<\/a><\/p>\n
419 S. 6th Street (6h & Lombard), Philadelphia, Pa. 19147
(215) 925-0616 | motherbethel@aol.com<\/a><\/p>\n
267-702-3479 | blackphiladelphiawalkingtour@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n
5501 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, Pa. 19144
(215) 205-4324<\/a><\/p>\n
3260 South Street Philadelphia, Pa. 19104
(215) 898-4000<\/p>\n
Pennsbury Manor State Park, 400 Pennsbury Memorial Rd, Morrisville, Pa. 19067<\/p>\n