Philadelphia Slavery Exhibit Fight Continues After Federal Appeals Court Ruled To Remove Slavery Exhibit at the President’s House in Philadelphia
On June 18, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration can remove and replace a slavery exhibit at the President’s House site, striking down a lower court injunction that required the National Park Service to reinstall the original interpretive panels.
The decision clears the way for the National Park Service to permanently dismantle the outdoor installation, which had stood since 2010. The exhibit named the nine enslaved people Washington held while living in Philadelphia during his presidency, documented their lives and forced visitors to confront the contradiction of a nation founded on freedom while allowing human bondage.
The Black Journey, a Black-owned walking tour company that has joined the fight to save the exhibit, called the ruling deeply disappointing.
“The Black Journey is deeply disappointed by today’s decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,” the organization, owned and operated by Philadelphia-based attorney Raina Yancy, said in a statement to theGrio. “While we disagree with the ruling, our commitment to preserving and sharing the full history of our nation remains unchanged.”
Court Says City’s Contract Claims Fell Short
The appeals court panel said a lower court judge wrongly interpreted Philadelphia’s contract claims involving Independence National Historical Park. The panel wrote that while the city had standing to sue, that did not mean its arguments were likely to succeed.
Philadelphia had argued that the federal government must consult with the city before making changes to the President’s House site. The city worked with federal officials, historians and private partners to create the exhibit in the early 2000s as part of a longstanding cooperation agreement over the downtown historical park. The city also contributed $1.5 million toward the project.
Justice Department lawyers argued that the Trump administration alone has the authority to decide what stories are told at National Park Service properties.
In its ruling, the appeals panel said the maintenance portion of the contract between the city and federal government could not be read as a promise that the exhibit would remain unchanged forever.
“The duty to ‘maintain’ is better understood as a general management obligation that accompanies ownership, not a promise that the exhibits will forever remain in place regardless of the owner’s wishes,” the opinion said.
The panel also praised the proposed replacement installation, writing that it was “full of historical context,” despite objections from historians, city officials and advocates who argue the new content appears whitewashed.
President’s House Exhibit Became A Flashpoint In Fight Over Public History
The ruling marks the latest victory for the Trump administration’s effort to reshape public historical displays it has described as containing “improper partisan ideology.”
In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” directing federal agencies to review public displays and remove content his administration classified as “improper partisan ideology.” The order called for the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks to avoid displays that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
The President’s House site sits at Sixth and Market streets in Old City, where George and Martha Washington lived with nine enslaved people in the 1790s, when Philadelphia briefly served as the nation’s capital.
In January, National Park Service workers removed 34 informational panels and artwork from the President’s House site and shut off video presentations connected to the exhibit.
Days later, Philadelphia sued the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service, arguing that the federal government could not alter the exhibit without the city’s approval.
In February, Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe ordered the government to restore the exhibit, writing that officials could not “dissemble and disassemble historical truths.” Workers began rehanging the panels before the Trump administration won a temporary order pausing the restoration. About half of the original panels remain in place.
Thursday’s decision overturned Rufe’s injunction and allows the National Park Service to move ahead with replacement panels.
The ruling also comes one week after a federal judge in Massachusetts ordered the Trump administration to restore several sites that had been changed under the same executive order. The federal government has asked for a stay while it appeals that decision. It remains unclear how the Massachusetts ruling could affect the restoration or replacement of the President’s House panels.
Advocates Say The New Exhibit Softens The Truth
The proposed new display acknowledges that Washington and John Adams used enslaved labor and references Washington’s signing of the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act. However, critics say the replacement does not carry the same direct focus on the people enslaved at the President’s House or the violence of the system that kept them there.
U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hardiman defended the proposed panels in the court’s opinion, writing that they “acknowledge the evil of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies,” and tell the story of the nine enslaved people Washington kept at the President’s House.
When asked by Courthouse News to comment on the ruling, an Interior Department spokesperson replied with three words: “Trust in Trump.”
Messages to spokespeople for the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service were not returned, according to the Associated Press.
Black Journey, NAACP Legal Defense Fund And Allies Push Back
For The Black Journey and several allies, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Avenging The Ancestors Coalition, the ruling has not ended the fight.
“This moment only reinforces the importance of our work,” The Black Journey said. “As stewards of the stories of the enslaved ancestors who lived and labored at the President’s House and countless others whose experiences have too often been marginalized or erased, we understand that our mission is more critical than ever.”
In a video posted to Instagram after the ruling, which the NAACP Legal Defense Fund also pointed to for its response, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker vowed to use every legal resource available to keep fighting.
“We cannot, and we will not rest until the full story of American history, including the existence of slavery at the President’s House here in our great city of Philadelphia, the birthplace of democracy, is told for our nation, and quite frankly, the world to see,” Parker said.
“I will continue to fight along with the allies who have been involved with the President’s House from the very beginning, including the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, led by our own Michael Coard, the Black Journey, and other citizens who feel passionately that there is only one way to tell American history,” she continued. “And that is to tell the truth, we will keep you posted.”
The Black Journey said the removal of public panels does not erase the truth they carried.
“The truth remains, and we will continue to tell it. We remain committed to providing the full historical context necessary to understand our shared past and its continuing impact on the present,” the organization said. “We also continue to pursue our legal options. This is not over. The Black Journey is not going anywhere. We will continue to honor our ancestors, amplify their stories, and ensure that future generations have access to the history they deserve to know. The work continues.”
