Trump administration orders removal of slavery exhibits from national parks
The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology,” including photo of enslaved man’s scars.
As reported by y Jake Spring and Hannah Natanson in The Washington Post, the Trump administration has directed the National Park Service to remove exhibits and signage related to slavery from multiple national parks. This directive includes a shocking historic photograph showing scars on an enslaved man's back.
Sweeping directive targets "corrosive ideology"
The removals stem from thee President Trump's March executive order directing the Interior Department to eliminate information that reflects what he called "corrosive ideology." That is, information that disparages historic or white Americans.
Park Service officials are interpreting this directive broadly, applying it to information on racism, sexism, slavery, gay rights, and persecution of Indigenous people. If your history ain't cis, male, and lily white, suck it.
Following the order, Interior Department officials established policies requiring agency employees to report any potentially non-compliant material. This including signage and gift shop items. The administration also launched an effort encouraging park visitors to report "offending material." Thankfully, this has mostly generated criticism of the policy and praise for the parks.
Historic sites affected
Several significant sites are in the crosshairs:
Harpers Ferry National Historic Park
This park in West Virginia commenorates abolitionist John Brown's famous raid to arm enslaved people for revolt, before Robert E. Lee had him hanged. The park has flagged more than 30 signs for removal or modification. These include references to racial discrimination and white hostility toward formerly enslaved people.
The President's House Site
This site.in Philadelphia tells the story of nine people enslaved by George Washington while he served as president. This story has also been deemed non-compliant with the new policy.
"The Scourged Back"
Officials have ordered the removal of "The Scourged Back," an 1863 photograph showing scars on the back of a man named Peter Gordon from wounds inflicted by his masters before he escaped slavery. The image (above) shocked Northern audiences, and it has become an iconic symbol in the struggle for Black liberation.
Actual historical experts (and one shill) weigh in
University of Pennsylvania professor Jonathan Zimmerman characterized the directive as "unprecedented interference with the nation's civic institutions,. He also notes the irony of an administration that advocates for state and local control of education manifesting "an enormous increase in federal power and control."
Cindy MacLeod, former superintendent of Independence National Historical Park, warned that removing slavery content would "fundamentally change the nature" of exhibits designed to tell America's complete story. But isn't that the entire point?
Park Service spokesperson Rachel Pawlitz defended the review, stating that materials emphasizing "negative aspects of U.S. history" without broader context "can unintentionally distort understanding rather than enrich it."
As with the lost cause, they'd rather celebrate the myth rather than the true storie and people that made America. How long before they try to eradicate slavery from all curricula?
Non in cautus futuri.
