Trump administration is erasing history and science at national parks, lawsuit argues; AP, February 17, 2026

MATTHEW DALY, AP; Trump administration is erasing history and science at national parks, lawsuit argues

"Conservation and historical organizations sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over National Park Service policies that the groups say erase history and science from America’s national parks. 

A lawsuit filed in Boston says orders by President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have forced park service staff to remove or censor exhibits that share factually accurate and relevant U.S. history and scientific knowledge, including about slavery and climate change. 

Separately, LGBTQ+ rights advocates and historic preservationists sued the park service Tuesday for removing a rainbow Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument, the New York site that commemorates a foundational moment in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. 

The changes at exhibits came in response to a Trump executive order “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks. It directed the Interior Department to ensure those sites do not display elements that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.” Burgum later directed removal of “improper partisan ideology” from museums, monuments, landmarks and other public exhibits under federal control...

The suit was filed by a coalition that includes the National Parks Conservation Association, American Association for State and Local History, Association of National Park Rangers and Union of Concerned Scientists. It comes as a federal judge on Monday ordered that an exhibit about nine people enslaved by George Washington must be restored at his former home in Philadelphia."

Judge invokes George Orwell’s ‘1984’ in ordering restoration of Philadelphia slavery exhibit; The Hill, February 16, 2026

 ZACH SCHONFELD, The Hill; Judge invokes George Orwell’s ‘1984’ in ordering restoration of Philadelphia slavery exhibit 

"A federal judge ordered the National Park Service to restore exhibits about slaves who lived at the nation’s one-time executive mansion in Philadelphia, agreeing with the city that the Trump administration likely unlawfully removed the displays. 

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe invoked the dystopian novel “1984” as she blocked the Trump administration from changing or damaging the site, which is now an outdoor exhibition.

“As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 now existed, with its motto ‘Ignorance is Strength,’ this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims—to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not,” Rufe wrote. 

Rufe is an appointee of former President George W. Bush."

Pennsylvania Episcopalians, church to celebrate life and legacy of Absalom Jones; Episcopal News Service (ENS), February 12, 2026

Shireen Korkzan, Episcopal News Service (ENS); Pennsylvania Episcopalians, church to celebrate life and legacy of Absalom Jones

"Church leaders and Episcopalians in the Diocese of Pennsylvania will celebrate the Feast of the Rev. Absalom Jones, The Episcopal Church’s first Black ordained priest, on Feb. 15 during a livestreamed service at the historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia, where Jones’ remains are interred in a side altar...

Absalom Jones was born into slavery in 1746 and released from bondage in 1784 following the American Revolution. Three years later, he and Allen, who also was the first bishop of the AME Church, co-founded the Free African Society, an organization that provided aid to Black people newly freed from enslavement.

Jones founded St. Thomas in 1792 and served as the church’s first rector. In 1802, he was ordained a priest. Jones’ feast day is on The Episcopal Church’s Lesser Feasts and Fasts calendar on Feb. 13, the date commemorating his death in 1818 at 71...

“In these difficult times, when even Christian communities can be strained by the forces of division and despair, our church urgently needs more leaders like Absalom Jones – leaders who act on behalf of the oppressed and distressed of our times, and at the same time embody the command Jesus gives us in the Gospel appointed for his feast day: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said in a Feb. 12 letter promoting the fund. Rowe preached at St. Thomas’ for Jones’ feast day in 2025.

This year’s celebration comes two weeks after the National Park Service removed an open-air exhibit featuring Jones and Allen from Independence National Historical Park.

The now removed exhibit, “The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” opened in 2010 on the site where Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived in the 1790s. It was removed in response to President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order prohibitingnational sites from showcasing negative aspects of U.S. history, including slavery.

The removal “strategically” occurring days before the start of Black History Month, February, was “absolutely deliberate and calculated,” Shaw said, noting that 2026 also marks the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding."

‘That Is A Dangerous Statement’: Federal Judge Eviscerates DOJ Over Slavery Exhibit Takedown; Above The Law, February 2, 2026

Kathryn Rubino , Above The Law ; ‘That Is A Dangerous Statement’: Federal Judge Eviscerates DOJ Over Slavery Exhibit Takedown

"The Trump administration is trying to memory-hole slavery, and a federal judge is running out of patience with their shenanigans. 

At a hearing last week over the Trump administration’s decision to rip out materials discussing slavery at George Washington’s former Philadelphia residence Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe — a George W. Bush appointee! — delivered a sharp rebuke to the DOJ lawyers defending the government’s actions. The exhibit in question, located on Independence Mall, was created by the City of Philadelphia in partnership with the National Park Service and tells the story of the nine enslaved people who lived and labored in Washington’s home. Earlier this year, federal workers reportedly took a crowbar to the plaques, citing President Donald Trump’s executive order purporting to “restore truth and sanity to American history.” But let’s be so fucking for real right now, it’s a literal whitewashing of it.

Judge Rufe was not impressed. “You can’t erase history once you’ve learned it,” she said. “It doesn’t work that way.” That theme only sharpened as the hearing went on. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory in den Berken attempted to defend the removals by gesturing vaguely at disagreement and discretion. “Although many people feel strongly about this one way, other people may disagree or feel strongly another way,” he said, adding, “Ultimately, the government gets to choose the message it wants to convey.”

Danger, Will Robinson. Though appearing before a Republican-appointed judge, it does NOT mean they’re cool with the current administration’s we-get-to-rewrite-history plan. Judge Rufe cut off the AUSA, according to reports, saying, “That is a dangerous statement you are making. It is horrifying to listen to,” she said. “It changes on the whims of someone in charge? I’m sorry, that is not what we elected anybody for.”...

At present, the government has stripped the site of all substantive discussion of the enslaved people who lived there, leaving only their names — Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Oney Judge, Moll, and Joe — engraved into a cement wall. Plaintiffs are asking the court to order the exhibit restored, and Judge Rufe instructed DOJ to ensure that the remaining materials are not damaged any further, and she intends to personally inspect the removed materials. She also indicated she intends to rule swiftly, particularly with the nation’s 250th birthday celebration looming and a surge of visitors expected at Independence Mall."

Judge Bars Further Changes to George Washington’s Philadelphia House; The New York Times, February 2, 2026

Mattathias Schwartz, The New York Times; Judge Bars Further Changes to George Washington’s Philadelphia House

The Interior Department removed placards and videos about Washington’s involvement with slavery. A new court ruling blocks further changes, for now.

"A federal judge in Philadelphia ordered the National Park Service not to make further changes to the President’s House Site, where George Washington lived as the head of the fledgling U.S. government, as she considers a lawsuit filed by the City of Philadelphia.

At a daylong hearing on Friday, the city argued that the Park Service was obliged to restore plaques and videos commemorating nine enslaved people who served Washington’s household on the site. Those items were removed by the Trump administration as part of a broader effort to use its control of the park system to reframe American history by eliminating materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”

Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, who was appointed by President George W. Bush to Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, expressed deep skepticism about President Trump’s effort on Friday. She called its purported legal basis “cavalier” and the prospect of further changes “frightening.”

On Monday, according to the case docket, she inspected the removed displays, which the government has said are being held in storage at the National Constitution Center. Judge Rufe’s Monday order stops short of mandating that the displays be put back up, as the city requested...

The case before Judge Rufe turns on whether the Interior Department, which includes the Park Service, was obliged to consult with the city before removing the slavery-related materials. Those kinds of consultations took place when Independence National Historical Park was first created and during years of planning for the slavery memorial at the President’s House leading up to its 2010 dedication. The city argues that while the site is Park Service property, some portions of a decades-long series of agreements between the federal government and the city governing its operation remain in force.

Justice Department lawyers have argued that the city is trying to infringe on the federal government’s right to free speech in deciding how the history of the site should be described."

Philadelphia sues US government for removal of slavery-related exhibit; The Guardian, January 23, 2026

Marina Dunbar , The Guardian; Philadelphia sues US government for removal of slavery-related exhibit

"Philadelphia is taking legal action against the Trump administration following the National Park Service’s decision to dismantle a long-established slavery-related exhibit at Independence National Historical park, which holds the former residence of George Washington.

The city filed its lawsuit in federal court on Thursday, naming the US Department of Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum, the National Park Service, and its acting director, Jessica Bowron, as defendants. The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring the exhibits to be restored while the case proceeds.

The display stood at the President’s House site, once home to George Washington and John Adams, and included information recognizing people enslaved by Washington, along with a broader chronology of slavery in the US...

The Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, sharply criticized the decision to take down the signs, arguing that 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,” Shapiro added in a message posted on X. “We learn from our history in Pennsylvania, even when it’s painful.”...

Congress had encouraged the National Park Service in 2003 to formally acknowledge the enslaved people who lived and worked at the President’s House. The lawsuit states that in 2006, the city and the agency agreed to collaborate on creating an exhibit for the site, which opened in 2010 with a memorial and informational panels focused on slavery.

The removal of the exhibit is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to eliminate cultural content that does not align with his policy agenda."

Philly has 3 librarians for 218 district schools. People from across the U.S. held a ‘read-in’ to call out problem.; The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 27, 2025

Kristen A. Graham , The Philadelphia Inquirer; Philly has 3 librarians for 218 district schools. People from across the U.S. held a ‘read-in’ to call out problem.

No Kings; Thinking About..., June 16, 2025

TIMOTHY SNYDER, Thinking About... ; No Kings

"It was a thrill to march at the No Kings Rally in Philadelphia on Saturday with friends and about a hundred thousand people. On the stage, I led a chant of "no kings -- freedom," and I tried to explain three things that slogan or that sequence can mean.

1. The logic. We don't want kings -- or autocrats or oligarchs -- because they will represent themselves or their families or those who finance them rather than us, the people. They will take away not only our rights but the functionality of our government, the safety of our streets, the possibility of social mobility, and the integrity of our environment. So freedom means no kings -- but is also means all of the good things. It means a government that works, it means the right of people to be left alone, it means the American dream, it means harmony with nature...

Philly was wonderful and it was big, but it was just one of thousands of protests in which about five million people took part. There were probably more people just in Philly alone than at Trump's birthday parade in DC. All in all there were about one hundred times more protestors on Saturday than there were people watching Trump's self-celebration. We can be proud of that. And then do the next thing."

Read On: We're Distributing 1,500 Banned Books by Black Authors in Philly This February; Visit Philadelphia, January 31, 2024

Visit Philadelphia; Read On: We're Distributing 1,500 Banned Books by Black Authors in Philly This February

"According to Penn America, more than 30 states have banned certain books by Black authors — both fiction and non-fiction — or otherwise deemed them inappropriate.

During Black History Month and beyond, Philadelphia — the birthplace of American democracy — is making these stories accessible and available to both visitors and residents.

Visit Philadelphia has launched the Little Free(dom) Library initiative in partnership with Little Free Library and the Free Library of Philadelphia, providing resources on their site to help protect everyone’s right to read. The effort encourages visitors and residents to explore Black history and engage with Black narratives by borrowing a banned book by a Black author from one of 13 locations throughout the city. Among them: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Betsy Ross House, Franklin Square, Eastern State Penitentiary and the Johnson House Historic Site.

The initiative is launching with a dozen titles and 1,500 books in total. The selections include:

• The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
• All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander"

A museum’s historic human remains are now the center of an ethics clash; The Washington Post, July 27, 2023

 Maura Judkis, The Washington Post; A museum’s historic human remains are now the center of an ethics clash

"The Mütter is a place for people who don’t fit in. And now, Eisenstein fears he can’t fit in here, either.

“People who have always felt othered” — for their physical abilities, their sexuality, their neurodivergence, their interest in death — “find their home in the museum,” says Polasky, the petitioner, who is now a curator for the British Online Archives.

Whether they can continue to do so depends on the answer to one question: What happens when the ethics of the 19th century meet those of the 21st?"

TPP trade deal pits Pittsburgh against Philadelphia; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/3/16

Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; TPP trade deal pits Pittsburgh against Philadelphia:

"Pittsburgh manufactures the products. Philadelphia ships them around the world.

One city stands to gain from expanding trade into the Pacific Rim while the other has much to lose, their mayors say.

That’s why Philadelphia’s outgoing mayor, Michael Nutter, has been helping the White House stump for the Trans-Pacific Partnership while Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto stands opposed...

Mr. Peduto acknowledges that the trade deal might be good for some industries, but says any benefits are outweighed by harm it would do to the steel industry."