Judge orders Trump administration to restore changes made to US park exhibits
Staff with the National Parks Service replace the plaques that were part of the 'Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation' exhibit at the President's house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)
The Trump administration must restore exhibits at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks that were removed or altered because the administration thought they "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living," a judge ruled Friday.
The judge who issued the order described the administration’s changes as an effort to "rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen."
Park Service forced to censor exhibits
The backstory: President Donald Trump signed an executive order "restoring truth and sanity to American history" at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks last year. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum later directed removal of "improper partisan ideology" from museums, monuments, landmarks and other public exhibits under federal control.
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National Park Service employees say they’ve been forced to remove or censor dozens of exhibits that share factually accurate and relevant U.S. history and scientific knowledge, including about slavery and climate change.
Many of the changes were at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, where the administration removed exhibits on the lives of nine people enslaved at the site in the 1790s under George Washington, the first U.S. president.
Slavery exhibits at President's House in PA removed
LiveNOW's Christina Evans speaks with Fallon Roth at Philadelphia Enquirer about slavery exhibits being removed from the president's house in Philadelphia.
Other changes included removing a sign at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona describing basalt bubbles because it had an image of a visitor holding a Pride flag while films on labor history were removed from the Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.
What they're saying:
"History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation’s story," U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley wrote.
"Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths," she continued.
What's next:
The Trump administration must also provide a status report every week with the progress they’ve made in restoring the sites, the judge ruled.
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press.