"Philadelphia is taking legal action against the Trump administration following the National Park Service's decision to dismantle a long-established slavery-related exhibit at Independence National Historical park, which holds the former residence of George Washington. The city filed its lawsuit in federal court on Thursday, naming the US Department of Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum, the National Park Service, and its acting director, Jessica Bowron as defendants. The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring the exhibits to be restored while the case proceeds."
"The display stood at the President's House site, once home to George Washington and John Adams, and included information recognizing people enslaved by Washington, along with a broader chronology of slavery in the US. 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, city lawyers wrote in the legal filing. According to the suit, officials were not informed in advance that the exhibit would be changed."
"The Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, sharply criticized the decision to take down the signs, arguing that 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, Shapiro added in a message posted on X. We learn from our history in Pennsylvania, even when it's painful."
Philadelphia filed a federal lawsuit seeking a court order to restore slavery-related interpretive exhibits removed from the President's House site at Independence National Historical Park. The defendants named include the U.S. Department of the Interior, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the National Park Service, and acting NPS director Jessica Bowron. The exhibits recognized people enslaved by George Washington and presented a broader chronology of slavery; city lawyers said removing those displays would be a material alteration and that officials were not notified in advance. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson sharply criticized the removals as an attempt to whitewash history.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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