A federal judge has mandated that the Trump administration must reinstall a display documenting nine individuals who were enslaved by George Washington at his former Philadelphia residence, after officials removed it last month on Presidents Day, the holiday celebrating Washington’s contributions to America.
Philadelphia city officials filed a lawsuit in January following the National Park Service’s decision to take down informational displays from Independence National Historical Park, the location where George and Martha Washington resided with nine enslaved individuals during the 1790s when Philadelphia served as the temporary national capital.
The exhibit’s removal followed a Trump executive order focused on “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at federal museums, parks and historical sites. The directive instructed the Interior Department to prevent these locations from showcasing content that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe issued her decision Monday, requiring complete restoration of all original materials while legal proceedings continue regarding the removal’s constitutionality. Her order prevents Trump administration officials from substituting alternative displays that present the history from a different perspective.
Judge Rufe, nominated by Republican President George W. Bush, opened her written decision by referencing George Orwell’s authoritarian novel “1984” and drew parallels between the Trump administration and the book’s totalitarian Ministry of Truth, which altered historical documentation to match its preferred version of events.
“As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 now existed, with its motto ‘Ignorance is Strength,’ this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims — to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts,” Rufe wrote. “It does not.”
During January court proceedings, she cautioned Justice Department attorneys that their arguments were “dangerous” and “horrifying” when they claimed Trump officials could select which aspects of American history to present at National Park Service locations.
The Interior Department has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the decision, which was issued while government offices remained closed for the federal holiday.
Judge Rufe did not specify a deadline for the exhibit’s restoration. Federal authorities retain the option to appeal her ruling.
This historical location represents one of multiple sites where the administration has quietly eliminated content addressing the experiences of enslaved people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and Native Americans.
At Grand Canyon National Park, removed signage previously described how settlers forced Native American communities “off their land” to establish the park and “exploited” the natural environment through mining and livestock operations.
Last week, officials removed a rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument, where bar customers resisted a police raid and sparked the contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movement. The administration has also deleted references to transgender individuals from the monument’s website, despite transgender women of color playing pivotal roles in the historic uprising.
The Philadelphia display, developed twenty years ago through collaboration between city and federal representatives, featured biographical information about each of the nine people enslaved by the Washington family at the residence, including two who successfully escaped.
One escapee was Oney Judge, who was born into bondage at the family’s Mount Vernon, Virginia plantation and fled from their Philadelphia home in 1796. Judge traveled north to New Hampshire, a free state, while Washington declared her a fugitive and published notices seeking her capture and return.
Following Judge’s escape from the Philadelphia residence, the park service in 2022 endorsed the site’s participation in a national Underground Railroad network where visitors could learn about abolitionists and escaped enslaved people. Judge Rufe observed that materials concerning Judge were among those removed, which she stated “conceals crucial information linking the site to the Network to Freedom.”
After park service workers used crowbars to remove the informational plaques on January 22, only the names of Judge and eight other enslaved individuals remained carved into a concrete wall — Austin, Paris, Hercules, Richmond, Giles, Moll and Joe, who were known by single names, and Christopher Sheels.
Hercules also gained his freedom in 1797 after being transported to Mount Vernon, where the Washingtons held numerous other enslaved people. Despite being labeled a fugitive slave, he successfully reached New York City and adopted the name Hercules Posey.
Multiple local political figures and Black community leaders praised the court decision, which coincided with ongoing demonstrations at the site advocating for the exhibit’s return.
State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, a Philadelphia Democrat, stated the community successfully resisted the Trump administration’s effort to “whitewash our history.”
“Philadelphians fought back, and I could not be more proud of how we stood together,” he said.
