Trump Administration Ordered To Restore Removed Exhibits At National Parks
Judge Angel Kelley’s 63-page ruling also banned the Trump administration from making any further changes to signage at the national parks.
Black News 
Upon taking office for his second term, one of President Donald Trump’s first actions was to sign an executive order aimed at removing “improper ideology” from national parks and the Smithsonian museums. So basically, any exhibits that acknowledge America was built by slave labor on stolen land. That effort has hit a roadblock after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must restore all exhibits that were changed as a result of the executive order.
CNN reports that Judge Angel Kelley wrote a 63-page ruling that called out the Trump administration for its attempts to rewrite history through the national parks. “Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths,” Kelley wrote.
“History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation’s story,” Kelley added.
In addition to ordering that the removed exhibits be restored, Kelley’s order also prevents the Trump administration from changing any more exhibits at the national parks.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department issued a statement signaling that the Trump administration will appeal Kelley’s ruling. “The Department will look at our appeal options while we celebrate UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend in honor of our nation’s 250th with the greatest president in the history of our country – President Donald J. Trump,” the statement read.
Earlier this year, a coalition of conservationists and advocates filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department and the National Park Service (NPS), accusing the administration of “mounting a sustained campaign to erase history and undermine science.” Alan Spears, the senior director for cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, celebrated the ruling.
“This is, we think, a good, favorable, just ruling from the judge that puts a stop, at least temporarily, to the sanitization, censorship, and softening of history as it’s told in our national parks,” Spears told CNN. He added that the ruling would allow national park visitors to “go back to business as usual, which is getting the full scope of American history from our national parks and the interpretation that our parks provide.”
Over the last 18 months, the Trump administration has taken several steps to remove any mention of historical facts or figures it doesn’t agree with. There were concerns over exhibits being removed from the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) only months after Trump took office.
The administration had the audacity to remove Harriet Tubman from a NPS webpage about the Underground Railroad, before restoring her due to bipartisan backlash. The Interior Department tried it again at the President’s House in Philadelphia earlier this year by removing an exhibit about the slaves owned by George Washington. The exhibit was eventually restored as a result of a lawsuit.
This is only the latest blow in the Trump administration’s attempt to rewrite American history. As part of its effort to remove “improper ideology” from national parks and museums, the Interior Department set up a QR code that allowed visitors to flag any exhibits they felt portrayed America in a negative light. A FOIA request revealed that the majority of the survey responses were roasting the Trump administration for trying to erase history.
It’s clear the public and the courts aren’t behind the Trump administration’s attempt to rewrite history in their image. So, of course, that means they’re only going to keep trying it.
SEE ALSO:
New Lawsuit Filed Over Removal Of Exhibits At National Parks
Trump’s Attempt To Have National Parks Visitors Flag ‘Improper Ideology’ Backfires
Judge: Trump Administration Must Restore Slavery Exhibit In Philadelphia
