Jake Spring, The Washington Post; Park gift shops could remove books on slavery and the Civil War
"Parks advocates have criticized the Trump administration’s directives as an attempt to whitewash history that has hurt morale among park staff who fear losing their jobs if they do not follow the directive...
The national park inventory system also includes staff reports on signs and other informational items that were submitted for review. A previous call for visitors to report problematic signs yielded thousands of comments largely supporting the parks or opposing the administration’s cuts to park staff and budgets...
While many parks reported very little to the administration, some appeared to take a more cautious approach in flagging items.
In one instance, an employee reported a sign next to a statue of President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his memorial in Washington for discussing his paralysis from polio.
“I recommend keeping it but am concerned that it may be seen by some as disparagement,” the comment reads.
Others appeared to support changes. One staffer wrote “replacement needed” for a sign at Russian Bishop’s House at Sitka National Monument. The sign explains that missionaries worked to destroy indigenous cultures and languages across Alaska.
In response to the administration’s actions, a group of historians, librarians and data experts at the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities has launched a “Save our Signs” project, encouraging people to post images of signs to preserve information that could be removed.
“Real history is not just happy stories,” the website reads."
