President's House supporters rally as some exhibits on slavery return to the walls

Almost a year ago, President Trump issued an executive order title titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” which claimed that our public monuments must be “solemn and uplifting,” and that “Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn—not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”

Philadelphia (the United States’ first capital city) caught the Trump administration’s ire for exhibits that honor the lives of people enslaved by our first president. Dozens of signs developed, funded, installed, and maintained thanks to a partnership between the City of Philadelphia, the federal government, and advocates led by the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition (ATAC, founded in 2002), were abruptly taken down on January 22. The City of Philadelphia rapidly sued U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.

The government’s truth?

In her opinion, Judge Rufe quotes George Orwell’s 1984, likening the Trump administration to Orwell’s totalitarian Ministry of Truth: “The government here likewise asserts truth is no longer self-evident, but rather the property of the elected chief magistrate and his appointees and delegees, at his whim to be scraped clean, hidden, or overwritten. And why? Solely because, as Defendants state, it has the power.” She quotes the lawyer for the U.S. government, who claimed in oral arguments that “Although many people feel strongly about this one way, other people may disagree or feel strongly another way. Ultimately, it is in this context that the Government gets to choose the message it wants to convey,” and the City of Philadelphia can have no say in that.

Authoritarians attack information

ATAC members, who launched their President’s House restoration campaign on January 27, were glad to see some of the signage restored on the morning of February 19, hours before the latest rally began (organized by the Philadelphia President’s House/Slavery Memorial Coalition). But many of the exhibits are still missing, causing some leaders to temper their celebration.

Speaking to the crowd, attorney and ATAC leader Michael Coard noted that a loss in court doesn’t mean the Trump administration will follow the judge’s orders. He also explained that lawyers for the government filed a request for a stay of Judge Rufe’s order on the night of February 18, hours before some of the signs were restored. “Something weird is going on,” he said. The legal wrangling over the exhibits is far from over.

ATAC member Stephen Pierce, a historic tour guide, said that history will mark four key moments in the resistance to the Trump regime: the Minneapolis response to ICE operations, the release of the Epstein Files, nationwide No Kings marches, and this legal victory in Philadelphia.

Authoritarians “always go after the information first,” Pierce said, urging National Park Service staffers not to give in when the Trump administration tries to erase our history. “They got money, but we got people,” he added.

Fighting a “desecration”

Coard emphasized that Presidents’ House advocates have made history with this campaign. He said the dismantling of the signage on slavery was not just vandalism, but “desecration,” because “this site is historic, hallowed ground.” He credited Mayor Cherelle Parker for her leadership in the city’s rapid legal response.

Councilmember Nina Ahmad also attended Thursday’s rally. “People around the world are watching,” she said of Philly’s efforts to restore the display.

After the rally, Coard said he doesn’t fear retaliation by the Trump administration, which increasingly engages in open threats against pro-democracy activists. “I don’t fear it because my ancestors went through the worst,” he told BSR. “I would be a coward not to pick up the baton from them.”

For more information about the President’s House Coalition events, follow @preshousecoalition on Instagram.