Federal judge rules no changes can be made to slavery exhibits at President’s House site in Philadelphia
A federal appeals judge has ruled that no changes can be made to exhibits about slavery at the President’s House in Philadelphia, days after the National Park Service announced “new exhibits” on its website.
It’s a small win for the city in the ongoing battle to preserve the original exhibits.
The site at 6th and Market streets, part of Independence National Historical Park, was once home to Presidents George Washington and John Adams when Philadelphia was the nation’s capital. The foundation of the home was uncovered in 2000 as the city prepared to relocate the Liberty Bell.
The site became an exhibit commemorating the home’s history and included stories about nine enslaved people who lived there. But in 2026, the Trump Administration ordered NPS workers to remove displays at the site as part of the president’s executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
Matt Rourke / AP
The judge’s ruling Thursday ordered that the exhibit remain unchanged for now as a legal fight over that executive order continues.
Some of the exhibit panels were reinstalled in February after a federal judge’s ruling, but an appeals judge then granted a stay that halted the restoration process. The Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, a group of activists who helped lobby for the creation of the exhibit, said some of the panels with important historical context are still not restored.
This week, the National Park Service website was updated with digital images labeled as “new exhibits” for the President’s House site. ATAC released a statement Thursday condemning the changed exhibits, calling them “an attempt to sanitize history and present a version of the past that is more comfortable, but far less truthful.”
CBS News Philadelphia asked the Trump administration if the new exhibit images posted online were meant to replace the original panels.
A spokesperson did not answer that question, but said President Trump is “committed to restoring truth and sanity” and “telling the full story.”
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