Philadelphia fights back against Trump's racism

The city of Philadelphia is suing the Trump administration over the decision to remove an exhibit at Independence National Historical Park depicting the factual history of slavery in the United States.

The suit was filed on Thursday in response to agents from the National Park Service removing the display, which has been in place for 16 years. Video recorded by The Philadelphia Inquirer shows the exhibit, titled “The Dirty Business of Slavery,” being pried off the wall at the park.

In the lawsuit the city explains, “The interpretive displays relating to enslaved persons at President’s House are an integral part of the exhibit and removing them would be a material alteration to the exhibit.”

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Officials and citizens decried the administration’s latest action in favor of white supremacy.

“Removing the exhibits is an effort to whitewash American history. History cannot be erased simply because it is uncomfortable,” said Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson in a statement.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the administration is trying to “rewrite and whitewash our history.”

Michael Coard of the Philadelphia-based group Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, who helped to install the display, said the administration’s actions were “historically outrageous and blatantly racist.”

The removal of the historical information is in line with President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity To American History,” which called for the removal of accurate historical information on federal property which doesn’t fit the right’s white supremacist narratives.

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The order has been used as justification for removing books, exhibits, and other information informing the public on slavery and hundreds of years of systemic racism in America.

The Philadelphia display specifically discusses President George Washington’s ownership of enslaved Black people, which is a matter of historical fact that is not up for debate.

The official website for Mount Vernon, Washington’s residence, goes into significant detail of how many people Washington owned—over 100—and how their free labor significantly contributed to the wealth of America’s first president.

Trump has embraced blatant racism for the entirety of his life as a political figure and as head of the Republican Party. He entered politics as the biggest promoter of the racist and false “birther” conspiracy theory claiming former President Barack Obama, America’s first Black president, was not a natural born citizen.

Since day one his administration has mounted a full-frontal assault on the historical record and has attempted to hide facts about American racism and slavery while minimizing Black achievement. The Philadelphia action is just the latest front, but the city’s reaction shows that there will be a constant backlash to Trump’s bigotry.

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