"Judges rejected a bid by the city of Philadelphia to stop the National Park Service’s efforts to recast unsavory elements of American history."
"An appeals panel ruled Thursday that the Trump administration can take down an exhibit on the enslaved servants of George Washington at a Philadelphia national park, a win for the White House as it tries to reframe the nation’s sins into uplifting stories of progress across national park sites.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded that a lower court lacked authority when earlier this year it ordered the National Park Service to mostly restore the slavery exhibit removed from Independence National Historical Park and blocked efforts to install a revised installation.
The Trump administration in January removed the outdoor exhibit dedicated to nine enslaved African Americans that Washington brought to the executive residence in Philadelphia when he served as president. The move was the most public display of Trump’s order for national parks to eliminate exhibits and education material that “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living.”"
Heather Richards reports for E&E News June 18, 2026.
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