Philadelphia to hold public hearing after removal of slavery exhibits
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said a public hearing will be held on Friday after the National Park Service removed a slavery memorial at the President's House at Independence Mall last week.
The exhibit opened in 2010 and honored the lives of the nine people enslaved there by President George Washington.
READ MORE | Slavery exhibits at President's House in Philadelphia removed after Trump administration directive
Mayor Parker said the public hearing will address a preliminary injunction request. It comes after the city filed a lawsuit requiring the federal government to return the panels.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees NPS. The lawsuit also names Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and NPS Acting Director Jessica Bowron.
The city argues that by removing the panels telling the stories of the enslaved people "without notice," NPS violated several congressional laws, as well as a 2006 agreement the agency made with the city that outlined the terms for creating the exhibit.
SEE ALSO | Philadelphia sues over removal of memorial honoring people enslaved by George Washington
The lawsuit argues that because the city of Philadelphia had an "equal right" under the 2006 agreement to "approve the final design" of the President's House Project, the city should also have the authority to review and approve any changes to the exhibit.
"You cannot erase our history. You will not erase our history!" Parker said in a video message on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has also filed a legal document in support of the city's lawsuit.
"Donald Trump will take any opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history - but he picked the wrong city and the wrong Commonwealth," said Governor Shapiro. "In Pennsylvania, we learn from our history, even when it's painful. We don't erase it or pretend it didn't happen... Those displays aren't just signs - they represent our shared history, and if we want to move forward as a nation, we have to be willing to tell the full story of where we came from."
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told ABC News in a statement last week that the removal of the slavery exhibit complies with President Donald Trump's March 27, 2025, executive order, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which directs the department to remove "divisive, race-centered ideology" and narratives from federal cultural institutions.
Through the lawsuit, the city of Philadelphia seeks a court order restoring the slavery memorial, a preliminary injunction to block other potential changes to the President's House, and a permanent injunction preventing further alterations to the exhibit.
Further details on the public hearing have not been released.
