Philadelphia sues Trump administration over removal of long-standing slavery exhibit from historic park
Source: CNN Politics
PUBLISHED Jan 23, 2026, 3:39 AM ET
The City of Philadelphia is suing the Trump administration after the National Park Service removed a long-standing exhibit on slavery in the city’s Independence National Historical Park. The lawsuit, filed in federal court Thursday against the US Interior Department, Secretary Doug Burgum, the park service and its acting director Jessica Bowron, asks for a judge to issue a preliminary injunction to return the displays.
The exhibit, located at the President’s House Site where Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived, features displays honoring individuals enslaved by Washington and a historical timeline of American slavery.
Video from CNN-affiliate WPVI shows work crews dismantling large display panels at the site on Thursday afternoon. “The interpretive displays relating to enslaved persons at President’s House are an integral part of the exhibit and removing them would be a material alteration to the exhibit,” attorneys for the city said in the filing.
The exhibit’s removal comes as the Trump administration continues its campaign to purge cultural institutions of materials that conflict with the president’s political directives.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/politics/philadelphia-sues-nps-removal-slavery-exhibit
REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143603365
This would be like a GIGANTIC First Amendment issue.
Michael Coard, lawyer, columist, and activist, was the primary one battling to get this whole President's House thing up and running for decades.
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@MichaelCoard
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👀🗣️🎯🔥👊🏾❗️The President’s House/Slavery Memorial in Philadelphia is being dismantled and destroyed by the federal government today (Thurs., 1/22). But you can resurrect it. Here’s how:
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11:17 PM · Jan 22, 2026
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@CouncilmemberKJ
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My statement on the removal of exhibits from the President's House in Old City.
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9:52 PM · Jan 22, 2026
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@GovernorShapiro
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Donald Trump will take any opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history.
But he picked the wrong city — and he sure as hell picked the wrong Commonwealth.
We learn from our history in Pennsylvania, even when it’s painful.
Philadelphia Inquirer Politics
@PoliticsINQ
The National Park Service has started dismantling exhibits about slavery at the President’s House in Independence National Historical Park.
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7:20 PM · Jan 22, 2026
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Destruction of federal property is illegal!
