By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration put up new information panels on slavery at George Washington’s Philadelphia home on Wednesday, following a federal appeals court ruling that opened the way to changing how slavery is portrayed at the national historical site.
While the Department of the Interior said the new panels had historical context, Philadelphia’s mayor said the Democratic-led city intends to seek a rehearing of legal issues in the case. The Republican president has sought to reshape historical institutions and the portrayal of U.S. history.
“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said in a statement.
Last month, a federal appeals court overturned a judge’s ruling that prevented the Trump administration from replacing a slavery exhibit in Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.
HEADLINES CHANGED
The new panels, while retaining references to slavery and those enslaved by George Washington, removed some headlines in the earlier panels, such as “The Dirty Business of Slavery.” The new panels instead read: “Celebrating Independence Throughout the Years.” They also exclude a map of slave trade routes.
“These new panels are full of historical context and highlight the momentous events that took place in the President’s House and the other sites at Independence National Historical Park,” the Department of the Interior said in a statement.
The department said the new panels “acknowledge the evils of slavery.”
The change concerned Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association.
“This appears to be an effort to soften or sanitize the way the history of slavery is interpreted at Independence National Historical Park,” Spears said.
“And I have grave concerns about how this impacts the ability of our national parks to fulfill their role as honest brokers of our shared national narrative.”
Trump’s declarations and executive orders in his second term have led to the dismantling of slavery exhibits, the restoration of Confederate statues and other moves that civil rights advocates say could reverse decades of social progress and undermine the acknowledgment of critical phases of American history. He has said he aims to remove “anti-American” ideology.
The White House has targeted the Smithsonian Institution over its portrayal of history. Groups such as the Organization of American Historians have condemned Trump’s actions, saying they serve his political agenda.
Trump has been widely rebuked by civil rights groups for citing “reverse discrimination,” for saying civil rights have hurt white people, and for saying museums focused too much on “how bad Slavery was.”
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, editing by Donna Bryson and Rod Nickel)
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