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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Restoration efforts kicked off Thursday for an exhibit detailing the lives of nine individuals once enslaved at the historic President’s House in Philadelphia. This comes amid a heated legal dispute between the city and the Trump administration.
During a morning visit to the site, Mayor Cherelle Parker expressed gratitude to the workers involved in the restoration, as shared by spokesperson Joe Grace.
Following a federal judge’s order, the Interior Department faced a Friday deadline to reinstate the exhibit highlighting those enslaved by George Washington at the Independence Mall location. The U.S. Attorney’s Office chose not to comment on the ongoing restoration, according to a representative.
The Trump administration maintains that it has the exclusive right to determine the narratives presented at National Park Service sites. Last month, park service employees unexpectedly dismantled the exhibits at the Philadelphia location, leading the city and exhibit supporters to file a lawsuit.
Earlier this week, Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe issued an injunction mandating the restoration of the materials while the legal battle continues, and prohibiting Trump officials from introducing new historical interpretations of the site.
In her 40-page opinion, Rufe compared President Donald Trump’s administration to the totalitarian regime in the dystopian novel “1984,” which revised historical records to align with its narrative. She said the federal government does not have the power “to dissemble and disassemble historical truths.”
“If the President’s House is left dismembered throughout this dispute, so too is the history it recounts,” Rufe, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, wrote.
“Worse yet, the potential of having the exhibits replaced by an alternative script — a plausible assumption at this time — would be an even more permanent rejection of the site’s historical integrity, and irreparable,” she wrote.