Philadelphia officials have accused the Trump administration of politicizing public history after a long-standing exhibition on slavery was removed from a major historic site in the city.
The exhibition, Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation, was dismantled at the President’s House Site within Independence National Historical Park, prompting legal action from the city and sharp criticism from Democratic leaders.
City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said the decision reflected a broader effort by Donald Trump’s administration to reshape how US history is presented. “It is totally unacceptable that the National Park Service, under the direction of President Donald Trump and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, has removed exhibits about slavery at the President’s House Site in Independence National Historical Park,” Johnson wrote on X on Thursday evening.
Johnson added that Philadelphia’s mayor has filed a lawsuit challenging the move, arguing the exhibits were removed without consultation or warning.
Whitewashing America’s past
According to the city, the removal appears to follow an executive order signed by Trump last March that pledged to “restore truth and sanity to American history” by undoing what the administration described as the spread of “divisive ideology.” The order specifically singled out Independence National Historical Park, accusing it of promoting “corrosive ideology.”
The exhibition, which opened in 2010, examines the role of slavery in the early years of the United States and is located at the site of the nation’s first presidential residence. George Washington lived there when Philadelphia served as the federal capital, alongside nine enslaved people whose lives are documented in the display.
Is this your president? Is this your president do you claim this guy as your president? Erasing Black suffering from U.S. history continues. Exhibits at the President’s House in Independence National Historical Park—honoring the people George Washington enslaved—have been… pic.twitter.com/NKEXGN003h
— PhillyChitChat (@HughE_Dillon) January 22, 2026
The timing of the removal has heightened tensions, as the site is expected to draw increased attention ahead of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US independence this July.
The lawsuit filed by the city states:
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.
Johnson denounced the action as “an effort to whitewash American history,” adding,
History cannot be erased simply because it is uncomfortable.
Democratic Representative Brendan Boyle echoed those concerns, arguing that removing the exhibition amounted to “censoring the history of slavery” and represented a failure to confront the country’s past. “To live up to the ideals upon which America was founded, it is essential to be honest about our history, both the good and the bad,” Boyle posted on X.
The National Park Service, which oversees the site, has not publicly detailed the reasoning behind the exhibit’s removal.