PHILADELPHIA — An exhibit detailing the lives of nine people enslaved by President George Washington in Philadelphia is being reinstalled on Thursday, despite an ongoing legal fight between the city and the Trump administration.
The stories and images that had been on display for two decades were abruptly removed last month following an executive order by President Donald Trump. The city subsequently sued for the exhibit to be rehung and a federal judge set a Friday deadline for its full restoration.
Mayor Cherelle Parker visited Independence Mall — the site of the former President’s House — on Thursday morning.
"I want you to know I'm grateful," Parker said as she introduced herself to several of the National Park Service workers lifting large panels back onto the display area. Parker is the first Black woman to be elected mayor in Philadelphia.
“It’s our honor,” one replied. The restoration work was expected to continue through Friday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office, which is appealing Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe's ruling, declined to comment on the restoration work, a spokesperson said.
Trump's order called for "restoring truth and sanity to American history" at the nation's museums, parks and landmarks. The administration argued that it alone can decide what stories are told at Park Service properties around the country.
"Although many people feel strongly about this (slavery exhibit) one way, other people may disagree or feel strongly another way," Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory in den Berken argued during a Jan. 30 court hearing.
“Ultimately,” he said, “the government gets to choose the message it wants to convey.”
Rufe cut him off, calling the comments “dangerous” and “horrifying.”
As the fate of the exhibit played out in court, educators brought students to the site to reflect on the missing history and supporters of the exhibit posted messages such as “Washington owned slaves here" on the empty walls.
Independence Mall is one of several historical sites where the administration has quietly removed content about the history of enslaved people, the LGBTQ+ community and Native Americans, in what some call an erasure of the nation's history.
In a 40-page opinion issued on Presidents' Day, Rufe compared the Trump administration to the totalitarian regime in the dystopian novel “1984."
“If the President’s House is left dismembered throughout this dispute, so too is the history it recounts,” Rufe, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, wrote.
“Worse yet, the potential of having the exhibits replaced by an alternative script — a plausible assumption at this time — would be an even more permanent rejection of the site’s historical integrity, and irreparable,” she wrote.
Rufe granted an injunction ordering the restoration of the materials while the lawsuit proceeds and barring Trump officials from creating new interpretations of the site’s history.
A spokesperson said Tuesday that the Interior Department had planned an alternative display “providing a fuller account of the history of slavery at Independence Hall." On Wednesday, government lawyers asked that the restoration order be put on hold while their appeal plays out.
It is not yet clear how the decision to restore the exhibit would affect the court case.
The exhibit includes biographical details on the people enslaved by George and Martha Washington at the presidential mansion: Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Oney Judge, Moll and Joe.
“When the exhibit was taken down, it was very devastating for the city. It was very devastating to me personally. I value the visibility of Black history, which is American history. So I’m really happy that it’s restored,” said Jabari Cherry, a Philadelphia resident who visited the site Thursday.
Millions of people are expected to visit Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace, this year for the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding in 1776.
“A lot of people are going to be coming through these streets," said Tatiana Alvarez of Los Angeles, who stopped by Thursday. "It’s a very historic town, but it’s important that we acknowledge the history of America — all of our history — whether that’s easy or the difficult history that is tackled here.”
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