By Fallon Roth, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)
PHILADELPHIA— After months of uncertainty, President Donald Trump’s administration plans to make changes to Philadelphia’s President’s House Site, which memorializes the nine people George Washington enslaved during the founding of the United States.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that “officials plan to substantially alter” the President’s House, which opened in 2010 after years of advocacy from Black community leaders.
The anticipated changes, triggered by Trump’s executive order, come ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026, when the sites at Independence National Historical Park will be at the center of commemorative events and an expected wave of tourism to the city. Activists warn that Trump is attempting to sanitize American history by omitting slavery from the narrative.
“I’m absolutely outraged from me being involved in this for 23 years, beginning in 2002. My position is that a substantial alteration — even a minimal alteration — is historical blasphemy,” Michael Coard, leader of Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, told The Inquirer Tuesday. The Black-led advocacy group helped shape the President’s House and is now leading the charge to protect it.
Thirteen items across six displays — all pertaining to slavery — at the President’s House at Independence National Historical Park were flagged by park staff for the Trump administration’s review this summer in connection with orders from the president and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, The Inquirer reported in July.
It remains unclear which displays will be affected or whether other flagged materials at Independence Park, like a touchscreen at the Benjamin Franklin Museum or an iPad kiosk at Independence Hall, are also impacted.
Asked to confirm reporting that the President’s House exhibits were being targeted, Department of the Interior spokesperson Elizabeth Peace sent a statement saying the Department is implementing orders “to carry out the President’s Executive Order on ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.’”
”As the President has stated, federal historic sites and institutions should present history that is accurate, honest and reflective of shared national values,” the statement continued. “Interpretive materials that focus solely on challenging aspects of U.S.history, without acknowledging broader context or national progress, may unintentionally provide an incomplete understanding rather than enrich it.”
She also noted that each flagged site and its content will be reviewed specifically.
This reporting comes ahead of the Sept. 17 deadline set by the Trump administration to change or remove content at National Parks across the country.
As of Tuesday, the displays dealing with slavery remained intact at the President’s House.
One of the leading organizations for planning the city’s 250th celebrations, Visit Philadelphia, said it would find a new, private location for any content that was removed from the President’s House.
The ongoing threats to the site’s exhibits have been a lightning rod for local advocacy to protect the site, which was the subject of a fight in the early 2000s to center the stories of the nine people Washington enslaved.
Advocates have held rallies, town halls, and 45 historical organizations signed on to a letter addressed to Burgum opposing any alterations.
Displays in jeopardy include: “Life Under Slavery,” “History Lost & Found,” “The Executive Branch,” “The Dirty Business of Slavery,” “The House and the People Who Worked & Lived In It,” and an illustration with the words “An Act respecting fugitives from Justice,” in reference to Washington’s signing of the Fugitive Slave Act.
In several instances, text flagged by park staff this summer references the brutality and abuse suffered by enslaved persons.
Coard said this situation goes beyond political differences, noting that the President’s House Site was created while former President George W. Bush, a Republican, was in office. Of Trump, he said, “This is one man’s warped view and an attempt to deny undeniable American history.”
Advocates, including ATAC, sent a letter to Philadelphia’s National Park Service, including Independence Park, on Sept. 11 in an attempt to avoid any materials at the President’s House being deleted or altered. Coard, an attorney, said Tuesday they hope for a response by midnight. Otherwise, the group may consider litigation.
Staff Writer Julia Terruso contributed reporting to this article.
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