George Washington kept slaves as president. Federal exhibits commemorating them have now been removed in the name of “returning truth and sanity to American history.”
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PHILADELPHIA – An exhibit commemorating the enslaved people who lived and worked in George Washington’s home while he lived here as president, just steps away from the Liberty Bell, was dismantled on Jan. 22, its signage and other materials removed by National Park Service officials.
The lot at Sixth Avenue and Market Street is where Washington lived when Philadelphia was the nation’s capital, and records show he kept people there as slaves.
“There is only one federal facility in the country where the history of enslaved black people is documented,” said Michael Cord, a lawyer and activist who has fought for recognition for the nine people who were held in home confinement.
USA TODAY contacted the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior about the removal and received an email response pointing to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last March titled “Restore Truth and Sanity to American History.”
“The President has directed federal agencies to review interpretive materials to ensure accuracy, integrity, and consistency with our nation’s shared values,” the statement said. “After completing the necessary reviews, the National Park Service is currently taking steps to remove or modify the interpretive materials in accordance with the order.”
Coad said he wasn’t surprised by the firing, which had been threatened for months, but didn’t know why it happened now.
Cord was not at the scene when workers began removing signs and other exhibits, but Mijuel Johnson, another member of the Revenge of the Ancestors Coalition, was. Cord said Johnson asked the workers who were loading the signs onto trucks, but the workers only said they would take the signs to a safe location.
Several months ago, Coad and other activists, preservationists, historians and architects began drawing up plans in case the government acted before the executive order’s September deadline.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on January 22 that Philadelphia Mayor Sherrell Parker’s administration filed the lawsuit under a 2006 agreement between the federal government and the city that requires advance notice of any changes to park grounds. The lawsuit names Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and National Park Service Acting Director Jessica Bowron and calls the removal of the slavery exhibit illegal and “arbitrary and capricious,” according to the Inquirer.
Cord, speaking late on Jan. 22, said he was aware of the city’s lawsuit and was grateful the city was putting resources into the issue.
“I give great credit to the city for saving not only Black history but American history,” he said. “Our focus is to save the scene.”
He is worried about what will happen to the materials that were in the presidential palace.
Coad said there was “no way” the materials could be destroyed because they are important information and could serve as evidence in a lawsuit. “But anything can happen with this administration. It could all be torn down tomorrow.” This included a wall carved in stone with the names of enslaved people kept in the house.
Still, Coad said, “We are pursuing all legal options and there is much more we can do.”
