NPS Restores Tubman’s Image and Role After Silent Webpage Rewrite
The National Park Service has restored key references to Harriet Tubman on its Underground Railroad webpage after receiving heavy backlash for removing her photo, quotes, and central role in the freedom movement.
Trump is trying to rewrite the history of the Underground Railroad — even diminishing its conductor, MD's own Harriet Tubman.⁰
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) April 7, 2025
The Underground Railroad is an important part of the American story. We cannot let him whitewash it as part of his larger effort to erase our history. pic.twitter.com/KT87tiBJ2A
The agency reposted a deleted image of Tubman and reversed language that had reframed the Underground Railroad as an exercise in Black/white cooperation rather than a fight led by Black Americans against slavery. “Changes to the Underground Railroad page on the National Park Service’s website were made without approval from NPS leadership nor Department leadership,” NPS spokesperson Rachel Pawlitz told Axios late Monday. “The webpage was immediately restored to its original content.”
Trump-Era Policies Linked to Tubman’s Erasure from History Page
The move to scrub Tubman’s presence from the page was first reported by The Washington Post and fueled broader concerns about a coordinated effort to rewrite history on federal websites. This rewrite didn’t happen in a vacuum—it came as part of a larger rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the federal government, following President Trump’s executive orders.
Many agencies have already removed references to people of color and LGBTQ+ historical figures from online content. That context matters, because the NPS changes also happened while the Trump administration was reinterpreting Civil Rights-era laws to focus more on so-called “anti-white racism” than systemic discrimination against people of color.
Key Tubman Quote Removed, Replaced With Emphasis on Allyship
At the center of the controversy was a deleted quote from Tubman, where she described being a conductor on the Underground Railroad. That quote was replaced with an image of commemorative U.S. postal stamps featuring a mix of white and Black abolitionists. In the revised version, the webpage also dropped direct references to enslavement and instead framed the movement around “allyship” and shared values.
“The Underground Railroad bridged the divides of race, religion, sectional differences, and nationality,” the updated text read. It continued: “(It) joined the American ideals of liberty and freedom expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to the extraordinary actions of ordinary men and women working in common purpose to free a people.”
Historians, Lawmakers, and Advocacy Groups Push Back
The change sparked criticism from groups like the National Parks Conservation Association and multiple historians. Critics noted that the new framing diluted the role of slavery and erased the resistance led by Black Americans, particularly Harriet Tubman. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) pointed to Trump’s influence, posting on X that “Trump is trying to rewrite the history of the Underground Railroad — even diminishing its conductor, MD’s own Harriet Tubman.”
Underground Railroad Was a Resistance Movement, Not Just Cooperation
The Underground Railroad was not simply a moment of unity—it was a direct challenge to America’s hypocrisy. It was a secret network of routes, safe houses, and people—mainly Black, some white—who risked everything to help enslaved Black Americans flee captivity in a nation that claimed to stand for liberty and freedom. Many Black Americans, disillusioned with those American ideals, aimed not to reconcile with the U.S., but to escape it entirely, heading for Canada or Mexico.
Restoration of Tubman’s Legacy Is a Step Toward Truth
Despite an earlier NPS statement minimizing the issue as “a couple web edits,” the restoration of Tubman’s presence on the webpage is a necessary correction. For the Black community, Harriet Tubman is more than a historical figure—she’s a symbol of strategy, sacrifice, and resistance.
Her erasure from a federal history page didn’t just feel like an oversight; it felt like an attack. Restoring her name and story isn’t just about setting the record straight—it’s about honoring the truth, and those who built the path to freedom brick by brick.
