July 15, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For Philly Voice
Mayor Cherelle Parker says she will fight to restore the President's House exhibit in Old City to its original form after the Trump administration replaced panels on slavery overnight. The photo above shows the exhibit in April, with only some of the original displays there.
Mayor Cherelle Parker vowed to continue fighting to restore the President's House exhibit to its original form after the Trump administration replaced panels that detailed George Washington's role in the slave trade overnight.
A federal court gave the Trump administration permission earlier this month to put up the new displays at the exhibit in Independence National Historical Park. The content of those 11 new panels contains information about slavery, but has been criticized by historians and activists who say it diminishes Washington's role in the slave trade.
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Parker said in a statement Wednesday that her administration is committed to "the honest and accurate portrayal of history at the President's House."
"Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President's House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia," she added. "It was allowed to do this by the decision of the federal court, but that it did so at night shows it understands this action is shameful, that it violates community trust. Which it is and which it does."
Avenging the Ancestors coalition, a group of activists that has fought to maintain the site's original design, held a protest at the President's House on Wednesday afternoon in opposition to the federal government's new changes.
"This was done in the middle of the night, away from public view," the group wrote on Instagram. "We want everyone to know that no matter what they do, we are not going anywhere. We will challenge these latest actions and pursue every lawful avenue available to protect, preserve and tell the truth about our history."
The President's House opened in 2010 as a memorial to the nine known enslaved people that Washington and his wife, Martha, kept at the house during his time as president. The new panels, which first were made available online, soften some language that was used in the original exhibit. For example, a panel that was formerly titled "The Dirty Business of Slavery" is now called "Celebrating Independence Throughout the Years."
The new display also goes into detail about the wavering views of Washington and other founding fathers on slavery and describes the enslaved people who lived in the President's House as having a "greater modicum of autonomy than elsewhere in the South," because they were able to "explore the city and sometimes even attend the theater, with Washington buying the tickets."
"Washington did take steps to reduce slavery in his own household," the exhibit now says. "He opposed buying and selling enslaved people and sought ways to decrease their number at Mount Vernon. In the 1790s, he explored selling or leasing land to finance emancipation and even considered purchasing Martha's dower enslaved workers so he could free them. These efforts were never realized."
A spokesperson with the Department of the Interior said the new exhibit is "full of historical context" that "highlight the momentous events that took place" at the site.
"They acknowledge the evils of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the stories of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President's House, remind us of their essential humanity," the department said. "The panels also recall the price our nation paid to 'finish the work that the Founders had begun and end slavery in the United States once and for all.'"
The new panels were installed between late Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday morning. The Department of the Interior did not respond to a question asking exactly when the displays were replaced.
The dispute over the site began in January when the Trump administration removed 34 panels without warning in accordance with an executive order from President Donald Trump. The order called for displays with "divisive narratives" to be removed from national parks. Philadelphia filed a lawsuit in response and a federal judge ordered the exhibit to be restored in February.
In June, an appeals court overruled the preliminary injunction, finding the National Parks Service did not need to restore the original panels. The Trump administration was given approval by a federal judge to install new panels on July 3.
Parker said the city intends to seek a rehearing of the appeals court's decision. She said the ruling raises questions about the federal government's conduct in replacing the exhibit that are "highly consequential" and extend beyond this particular case.
"We celebrated the fact that 250 years ago imperfect humans came together to recognize the universal search for freedom and for dignity, while at the same time these same leadership perpetuated the heinous institution of slavery," she said. "This paradox reveals core questions we still live and struggle with today — How do we share power for the betterment of all people?"
