In a move that has stirred emotions in Philadelphia and beyond, the National Park Service commenced the dismantling of a slavery memorial at the President’s House on Thursday. This exhibit, which opened in 2010, served as a poignant homage to the lives of nine individuals enslaved by President George Washington.
The removal process was captured by the Action Cam, showing National Park Service staff methodically taking down the boards and panels that narrated the stories of Austin, Christopher Sheels, Giles, Hercules, Joe Richardson, Moll, Oney Judge, Paris, and Richmond. These names, once central to the exhibit, have become emblematic of a broader struggle to acknowledge and remember the darker chapters of American history.
Michael Coard, a Philadelphia attorney and founder of the Avenging The Ancestors Coalition, expressed his dismay at the removal. His advocacy group, which campaigned for years to establish the slavery memorial, is gearing up to announce what Coard describes as a “powerful action” in response to the dismantling. Coard’s group has long been dedicated to ensuring these stories remain part of the historical narrative.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson has vocalized his opposition to the removal. In a statement, Johnson criticized the action as an attempt to “whitewash American history,” emphasizing that uncomfortable truths cannot simply be erased by removing exhibits. “Removing items from the President’s House merely changes the landscape, not the historical record,” he asserted.
Efforts to obtain comments from the National Park Service, the White House, and the Department of the Interior have so far gone unanswered, leaving many questions about the motivations and future plans for the site. The unfolding situation has drawn parallels to broader national debates about how America chooses to face and interpret its past.
Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson called the removal unacceptable, saying in a statement, “Removing the exhibits is an effort to whitewash American history. History cannot be erased simply because it is uncomfortable. Removing items from the President’s House merely changes the landscape, not the historical record.”
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro added, “Donald Trump will take any opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history. But he picked the wrong city – and he sure as hell picked the wrong Commonwealth. We learn from our history in Pennsylvania, even when it’s painful.”
The City of Philadelphia has filed the lawsuit over removal. The lawsuit names Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron, and the National Park Service.
“I can’t allow my pride, ego or emotions to dictate what my actions will be,” said Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker. “That is why my job as mayor is to do my homework. And my homework is grounded in the legal research that our law department will conduct that relates to that 2006 cooperative between the City of Philadelphia and the federal government.”
The removal of those exhibits was feared and anticipated by advocates like Coard for months after President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered “disparaging” materials to be removed from Independence Hall ahead of America’s 250th birthday — a directive that was included in Trump’s March 27, 2025, executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order.
The order directs Burgum to “restore parks, monuments, memorials, statues, markers and similar properties that purportedly created a false revision of history or improperly minimize[d] or disparage[d] certain historical figures or events.”
The order specifically mentions Independence National Historical Park and directs Burgum to restore it ahead of the U.S.’s 250th birthday celebration next summer.
“The Secretary of the Interior shall provide sufficient funding, as available, to improve the infrastructure of Independence National Historical Park, which shall be complete by July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” the executive order says.
The executive order also criticized Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, which is where the Declaration of Independence was founded, and signaled that some changes could be made.
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“At Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – where our Nation declared that all men are created equal – the prior administration sponsored training by an organization that advocates dismantling ‘Western foundations’ and ‘interrogating institutional racism’ and pressured National Historical Park rangers that their racial identity should dictate how they convey history to visiting Americans because America is purportedly racist,” the executive order said.
Amid anticipation over what changes the Trump administration could make at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historic Park, Coard told ABC News in Oct. 2025 that he feared that the stories of the enslaved people at the President’s House were “especially under threat” and the history of slavery “could be erased.”
Coard said that he formed the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition in 2002 to advocate for the NPS to highlight the history of slavery and after years of steadfast resistance, ATAC helped successfully advocate for the slavery memorial, which opened in 2010.
The President’s House site is part of Independence National Historical Park, also referred to as Independence Hall. “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” an outdoor exhibit, features original brick from Washington’s home, which was demolished in 1832, and videos and panels that tell the stories of the people enslaved by Washington who were held there, according to NPS.
Independence Hall has been temporarily closed for “preservation projects” since November 13, 2025, and will remain closed until January 28, 2026, “to enable preservation teams to complete comprehensive interior work to prepare the site for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026,” NPS said.
Asked if the removal of the exhibits was permanent and whether additional changes are coming, NPS did not respond to requests for comment.
As of early Thursday evening, the outdoor exhibit — “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” — was still listed on the NPS’s website and is described as an exhibit that “examines the paradox between slavery and freedom in the founding of the nation.”
The biographies and brief stories of the nine people who were enslaved by Washington were also still listed on the NPS website as of Thursday afternoon.
“The President’s house in the 1790s was a mirror of the young republic, reflecting both the ideals and contradictions of the new nation,” the NPS website said. “The house stood in the shadow of Independence Hall, where the words ‘All men are created equal’ and ‘We the People’ were adopted, but they did not apply to all who lived in the new United States of America.”
ABC News’ Jeana Fermi and Will Steakin contributed to this report.
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