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Court ruling clears way to replace slavery exhibit in Philadelphia at President’s House Site, handing Trump a win

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A unanimous appeals court panel ruled Philadelphia lacks authority to
control exhibits at the Independence Mall site. 

A federal appeals court has paved the way for the Trump administration
to replace the slavery exhibit it removed at the President’s House Site
on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. 

Thursday’s decision effectively discards a February injunction ordering
the National Park Service to restore the site, which included a series
of illustrated panels about the nine people enslaved by George
Washington at the executive mansion while he was president in the 1790s. 

The panels were taken down, then partially restored, as part of a
monthslong legal fight rooted in an executive order issued by President
Donald Trump. Citing a 2006 agreement, the city sued the Park Service
and the Interior Department in January after it abruptly removed the
exhibit to comply with the order. 

In its unanimous ruling, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals found that
the city does not have any “statutory, property, or contractual rights
that empower it to curate the exhibits in the President’s House.” The
judges also concluded that the Trump administration’s replacement
panels, which NPS has posted online, are “full of historical context.” 

“They highlight the momentous events that took place in the President’s
House and the other sites at Independence National Historical Park. They
acknowledge the evil of slavery, including its injustices and
hypocrisies, and, by telling the story of the nine slaves that
Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential
humanity,” wrote Judge Thomas Hardiman, who authored the appellate
court’s opinion. 

The city’s Law Department did not have an immediate response to the
ruling. 

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Interior did not immediately
respond to a request for comment. 

Critics have argued that the new panels would change the overall tone of
the site, softening and significantly reducing references to slavery.
The Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, which led the movement to develop
the original site to focus on Washington’s slaves, has said the exhibits
are a form of “whitewashing.” 

“What we are seeing now is not restoration—it is revision,” the
statement read. “It is an attempt to sanitize history and present a
version of the past that is more comfortable, but far less truthful,”
the coalition said in an April statement. 

On Thursday, the group said it was “disappointed” by the Third Circuit’s
decision and vowed to continue its fight to ensure “the full truth of
our nation’s history is preserved and presented accurately.” 

“We are currently conducting a thorough review of the Court’s opinion
and consulting with our legal team to fully understand its
implications,” the group said in a statement. “As we carefully evaluate
the decision, ATAC will consider all available options moving forward.” 

How the fight over the exhibit began
Last March, Trump issued a sweeping executive order titled “Restoring
Truth and Sanity to American History,” a directive aimed at reshaping
how American history is presented at federal sites. It called for the
removal of what it described as “negative” or “disparaging” portrayals
of the nation’s founders. 

In January, the Park Service removed the entire slavery exhibit at the
President’s House, alarming advocates and prompting the city to file a
federal lawsuit seeking to restore the panels. Mayor Cherelle Parker’s
administration called the decision to remove the exhibit “arbitrary and
capricious,” violating federal law. 

The following month, on Presidents Day, U.S. District Court Judge
Cynthia Rufe sided with the city, granting a preliminary injunction that
ordered the Park Service to restore the site to its original “physical
status” while a lawsuit challenging the removal played out. 

In her ruling, Rufe sharply criticized what she called the government’s
unilateral decision to remove the exhibit, calling it an attempt to
suppress historical information. The judge used a literary reference to
drive home her opinion of the government’s rationale, likening the
government to the fictional Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s novel
“1984.” 

Many of the panels were restored the same week, but not all of them.

Less than a week ago, a district judge in Massachusetts ordered the
Trump administration to restore the missing plaques. The decision
temporarily blocked the Park Service from removing or altering content
at federal sites across the country. 

It’s now unclear whether the city has any legal options left to stop the
administration from installing new panels. 

Technically, its lawyers could request a rehearing from the Third
Circuit, but Thursday’s unanimous opinion makes that path challenging,
legal experts say. Asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the ruling is
also viewed as a longshot. 

In a video message posted to Facebook on Thursday evening, Mayor
Cherelle Parker said she “will pursue every legal action possible” to
reverse Thursday’s decision. 

“We cannot and we will not rest until the full story of American
history, including the existence of slavery at the President’s House,
here in our great city of Philadelphia, the birthplace of democracy, is
told for our nation and, quite frankly, the world to see,” Parker said. 

In the meantime, the Massachusetts ruling appears to bind the Park
Service, at least for now. 

Critics say new panels rewrite history
The new plaques include references to slavery, the Underground Railroad
and figures such as Frederick Douglass. Like the previous panels, they
also make mention of the nine enslaved people held by Washington while
he was president and living in Philadelphia. 

But opponents say the panels are an attempt to place Washington in a
better light. 

For example, text on one notes that the U.S. Constitution did not
contain the word “slavery,” and another argues that Washington had
“doubts” about the institution. 

“Privately, George Washington often expressed discomfort with the
institution and a desire to see it abolished,” it reads. “Yet as a
Virginia plantation owner, his wealth and livelihood were deeply tied to
it.” 

On Thursday afternoon, a visitor at the President’s House Site said he
wasn’t thrilled by the prospect of the Trump administration installing
the new panels. 

“I don’t think they should be doing that,” said Samuel Saint Germain.
“These signs are really powerful and impactful in what Philadelphia has
in its history.” 

https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-presidents-house-court-ruling-repl
ace-exhibit-trump/ 

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