Slavery exhibit swapped overnight at Philadelphia’s Independence Park

Jake Spring, Washington Post

The Trump administration has replaced an exhibit on slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia with a version that advocates say sanitizes the nation’s history.

The President’s House site at the park includes an excavation of the home where George Washington lived when he served as president, with surrounding panel displays and videos focused heavily on the stories of nine enslaved people who lived with and served him.

Michael Coard, a founding member of the local advocacy group the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, said the new panels whitewash history by taking out panels previously in the exhibit, such as one titled “The Dirty Business of Slavery.”

“It’s not going to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” Coard said of the new panels.

In a statement, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said the previous panels were removed overnight.

“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” Parker said. “That it did so at night shows it understands this action is shameful, that it violates community trust.”

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You can also discover black history in our physical and virtual museum galleries.

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