The Trump administration must restore slavery exhibit at Philly’s President’s House, federal judge rules

A federal judge on Monday ruled the Trump administration must restore the slavery exhibits at the President’s House Site on Independence Mall while the case over the National Park Service’s actions continues. In January, employees from the National Park Service removed the display that detailed the lives of nine people George Washington enslaved at the home while he was president.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe compared the administration’s rationale for removing the signs detailing slavery to the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s “1984” — a dystopian novel about authoritarianism.

“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,” Rufe wrote in her decision. “It does not.”

Walking through the exhibit with her family Monday afternoon, Upper Darby resident Yolanda Parks agreed.

“How will we know where we came from if the history [exhibit] doesn’t remain,” Parks said. “You can’t change history just because right now you’re feeling some kind of way. I’m glad that we’re putting it back up. Very sad when it came down, but very excited that it’s getting put back up.”

Rufe, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President George W. Bush, referenced the Orwellian Big Brother regime several times in describing the Trump administration’s actions.

When will the President’s House slavery exhibit be restored?

Rufe did not set a deadline for the restoration. But Michael Coard, an attorney and founder of Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, which joined the city of Philadelphia in suing the federal government over the removal, said that’s likely because she expects the Trump administration to appeal the decision.

“This judge, a Republican, by the way, looked at the law, looked at the facts, and did the right thing,” Coard said. “It’s a great day in Philadelphia, it’s a great day in Pennsylvania, it’s a great day in America.”

Coard had been hosting the annual Presidents Day event at the site when he learned of the decision. He said the news made him “ecstatic.”

“We always point out that George Washington and 11 other presidents enslaved Black people,” Coard said. “This happened on Presidents Day. To me, it’s like the judicial equivalent of the Revolutionary War where the Founding Fathers took up arms against a dictatorial government in Britain. Well, this judge took up a pen against a dictatorial government here in 2026.”

Coard said the 40-page decision is “factually and legally impressive.”

The city of Philadelphia sued to restore the exhibit, citing contractual agreements made through congressional authority. Rufe wrote that the National Park Service cannot make changes to exhibits without agreement from the city of Philadelphia. Congress “limited the authority of the Department of the Interior and NPS to unilaterally alter or control Independence National Historic Park. The agencies do not have the authority to flout that Congressional directive.”

The National Park Service did not immediately respond to WHYY News’ request for comment.