The day after the judge handed down his ruling, workers began renovating the slavery exhibit at the President’s Office on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. set a Friday deadline for the Trump administration to do this.
On Wednesday evening, the administration asked U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe to suspend enforcement of the order pending the outcome of his appeal in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Rufe on Monday ordered the panels to be renovated while a lawsuit over removal proceeds is pending. Rufe, an appointee of President George W. Bush, compared the administration’s justification for removing the exhibit to the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s “1984,” a dystopian novel about authoritarianism.
panels, removed in January by the National Park Service, chronicle the lives of nine people enslaved by George Washington while he lived in Philadelphia as president.
City of Philadelphia immediately sued the Department of the Interior and the Park Service regarding removal.
Chestnut Hill resident Bill Rooney was passing by when he saw the renovations in progress.
“I feel like history is being made all over again,” he said. “Deleting this story is a step backwards. It wasn’t right.”
Jasmine Gutierrez, who was visiting from Lakeland, Florida, said she was explaining changes at the plant to her two children, ages 8 and 11. “Why would they take it?” she remembered they asked.
Gutierrez described the exhibition’s removal as “an active attempt to erase history.” She said she wants her children to know they have a voice. “We can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
Michelle Flamer, co-founder and board chair of this historic organization 1838 Black Metropolis“, said she is thrilled to be restoring the exhibit after participating in its creation more than 20 years ago. “We must tell the whole truth, especially when we come together to celebrate America 250– she said.
Amid occasional applause from passersby as national parks workers restored the panels, an anonymous worker said, “It’s an honor for us.”
Mayor Cherelle Parker, speaking at a Union League Black History event for The Philadelphia Tribune, reminded the audience that “today we celebrate the return of our history to display at the President’s House.”
From Philly to Stonewall: Witnesses to History
The legal wrangling around the President’s House followed President Donald Trump’s executive order “Restoring Truth and Common Sense to America’s History,” which aimed to transform the way history is presented in America’s parks, museums and landmarks.
Christina Raymond, a government student at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, visited Philadelphia on Thursday with her 9-year-old daughter, who is studying the American Revolution at school.
Considering the current moment in American history, Raymond said, “Unfortunately, I think we currently have an authoritarian system masquerading as a responsive democracy.”
Choking up, Raymond said: “We are here today to witness. This is democratic behavior.”
Earlier this week, LGBTQ+ rights advocates and preservationists similarly sued the Park Service for removing: Stonewall National Monument pride flag in New York.
Raymond said the collective retreat from Stonewall to Philadelphia gives her hope.
“These are Americans who are resisting and saying we won’t accept this,” she said. “We will not allow history to be rewritten.”
WHYY News’ Eric Nixon contributed reporting.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
