As Black History Month unfolds, the Trump administration is doubling down on its controversial removal of a slavery exhibit at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia — and now it has formally appealed a federal judge’s rebuke.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe — a Republican appointee of former President George W. Bush — issued an injunction ordering that the slavery exhibit at the President’s House Site be restored while a lawsuit over its removal proceeds. The exhibit details the lives of nine people enslaved by George Washington at his Philadelphia residence in the 1790s.
Rufe’s ruling didn’t mince words. She opened her opinion by quoting the dystopian world of George Orwell’s 1984, explicitly comparing the administration’s actions to a “Ministry of Truth” rewriting history — and concluded that the federal government does not have the power it claims to erase uncomfortable aspects of the American past.
The exhibit was removed in late January by National Park Service staff acting under a 2025 executive order from President Trump titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. That order directed the Interior Department to revise displays at parks, museums, and landmarks that it deemed “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
Local officials and civil rights advocates quickly sued. Philadelphia’s lawsuit argued that federal law and existing agreements require consultation before historical exhibits can be altered — a point the judge highlighted in her ruling.
In her decision, Rufe barred the administration from installing replacement materials or further altering the site’s historical interpretation, and required the National Park Service to maintain and protect the original panels and displays.
But the Trump administration did not back down. On Tuesday, the Justice Department filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, insisting that the executive branch should determine how history is presented at federal sites.
The legal battle has become part of a broader national debate over how the U.S. confronts its history of slavery and racial injustice. In addition to the Philadelphia fight, other lawsuits have been filed to block Trump administration efforts to remove or revise historical and scientific content at federal parks and monuments, including sites tied to Indigenous history and LGBTQ+ heritage.
Critics have blasted the removal as an attempt to whitewash history. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia officials welcomed the judge’s order as a defense of historical truth, saying the site should tell the full story of America’s past.
Millions are expected to visit Philadelphia this year for the nation’s 250th anniversary. The outcome of this legal fight could influence how other historical narratives are managed across federal cultural institutions.
