A first step to fascism’: critics denounce Trump administration replacing slavery exhibit at George Washington’s home
Replacement of panels with version that’s sympathetic to enslavers comes amid effort by Trump to dismantle diversity initiatives.
By Melissa Hellmann/The Guardian
Thu 16 Jul 2026 07.00 EDT
Critics say the Trump administration acted under the “cover of darkness” to replace an exhibit exploring the lives of nine enslaved people who lived at George Washington’s Philadelphia home with a version that is overly sympathetic to enslavers and that whitewashes the country’s origins.
The installation of new information panels followed a six-month fight between the city of Philadelphia and the Trump administration over an enslavement memorial at the President’s House, the former home of both Washington and his presidential successor John Adams.
The National Park Service (NPS) removed the original panels on 22 January 2026 to conform with Trump’s executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” issued on 27 March 2025. After the city of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit against the federal government, Judge Cynthia M Rufe ordered the original panels to be reinstated on 16 February. The NPS then reinstalled half of the exhibit, and the site remained in limbo for several months. The federal government appealed to the US third circuit, which ruled in mid-June that the exhibit could be replaced. On 3 July, a three-judge panel declared that the Trump administration could install new panels.
By the early morning of 15 July, the NPS had replaced the original exhibit – which told the story of the nine enslaved people who served George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when the US capital temporarily moved to Philadelphia – with new panels the Trump administration contends gives a fuller picture of the nation’s origins.
“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” said Cherelle L Parker, the city’s mayor, in a statement. “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 removal of the original panels, installed in 2010, comes amid an aggressive effort by Trump to dismantle diversity initiatives, using his executive authority to reshape how federally funded institutions present American history. His executive order directed the interior department to ensure historic sites do not display exhibits that “disparage Americans past or living”, prompting concerns that difficult chapters of US history are being sanitized.
In a statement emailed to the Guardian, a spokesperson for the Department of Interior, which oversees the NPS, said that the new panels provided context on the site’s historical significance.
“They acknowledge the evils of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the stories of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity,” the spokesperson said. “The panels also recall the price our nation paid to finish the work that the founders had begun and end slavery in the United States once and for all.”
The spokesperson added: “Through President Trump, we have encouraged Americans to visit our cultural and historic sites and engage in meaningful conversations about the moments that have shaped our country.”
One of the panels installed by the NPS includes a summary of Washington’s position on enslavement, highlighting his unease toward the institution, while another states that enslaved people in the President’s House “experienced a greater modicum of autonomy than elsewhere in the South such as to explore the city and sometimes even attend the theater, with Washington buying the tickets”.
Philadelphia attorney Michael Coard scoffed at the notion that autonomy could be experienced during enslavement. He compared the Trump administration’s actions to the authoritarianism featured in George Orwell’s book 1984.
“People should really be afraid. This is always the first step to fascism,” Coard said. “This is bigger than the government removing some panels at a site in Philadelphia. What could theoretically happen if the president doesn’t like the Liberty Bell? So what do you do – you move the Liberty Bell? What if, because of immigration, the president doesn’t like the Statue of Liberty – do we get rid of the Statue of Liberty? This is a slippery slope.”
By Melissa Hellmann/The Guardian
Thu 16 Jul 2026 07.00 EDT
Critics say the Trump administration acted under the “cover of darkness” to replace an exhibit exploring the lives of nine enslaved people who lived at George Washington’s Philadelphia home with a version that is overly sympathetic to enslavers and that whitewashes the country’s origins.
The installation of new information panels followed a six-month fight between the city of Philadelphia and the Trump administration over an enslavement memorial at the President’s House, the former home of both Washington and his presidential successor John Adams.
The National Park Service (NPS) removed the original panels on 22 January 2026 to conform with Trump’s executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” issued on 27 March 2025. After the city of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit against the federal government, Judge Cynthia M Rufe ordered the original panels to be reinstated on 16 February. The NPS then reinstalled half of the exhibit, and the site remained in limbo for several months. The federal government appealed to the US third circuit, which ruled in mid-June that the exhibit could be replaced. On 3 July, a three-judge panel declared that the Trump administration could install new panels.
By the early morning of 15 July, the NPS had replaced the original exhibit – which told the story of the nine enslaved people who served George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when the US capital temporarily moved to Philadelphia – with new panels the Trump administration contends gives a fuller picture of the nation’s origins.
“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” said Cherelle L Parker, the city’s mayor, in a statement. “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 removal of the original panels, installed in 2010, comes amid an aggressive effort by Trump to dismantle diversity initiatives, using his executive authority to reshape how federally funded institutions present American history. His executive order directed the interior department to ensure historic sites do not display exhibits that “disparage Americans past or living”, prompting concerns that difficult chapters of US history are being sanitized.
In a statement emailed to the Guardian, a spokesperson for the Department of Interior, which oversees the NPS, said that the new panels provided context on the site’s historical significance.
“They acknowledge the evils of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the stories of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity,” the spokesperson said. “The panels also recall the price our nation paid to finish the work that the founders had begun and end slavery in the United States once and for all.”
The spokesperson added: “Through President Trump, we have encouraged Americans to visit our cultural and historic sites and engage in meaningful conversations about the moments that have shaped our country.”
One of the panels installed by the NPS includes a summary of Washington’s position on enslavement, highlighting his unease toward the institution, while another states that enslaved people in the President’s House “experienced a greater modicum of autonomy than elsewhere in the South such as to explore the city and sometimes even attend the theater, with Washington buying the tickets”.
Philadelphia attorney Michael Coard scoffed at the notion that autonomy could be experienced during enslavement. He compared the Trump administration’s actions to the authoritarianism featured in George Orwell’s book 1984.
“People should really be afraid. This is always the first step to fascism,” Coard said. “This is bigger than the government removing some panels at a site in Philadelphia. What could theoretically happen if the president doesn’t like the Liberty Bell? So what do you do – you move the Liberty Bell? What if, because of immigration, the president doesn’t like the Statue of Liberty – do we get rid of the Statue of Liberty? This is a slippery slope.”
