New: Federal Court Reverses Trump’s Park Exhibit Removals
By Ward ClarkEver since he resumed office in January 2025, the Trump administration seems to have been beset by lawsuits on all sides, on all topics, in virtually every action that the president and his people try to carry out. Now, another: On Friday, a Biden-era federal judge ordered the National Park Service to temporarily (for now) halt plans to revise signage and displays that would "inappropriately disparage Americans."
The ruling pauses enforcement of an executive order that called for removing or covering up materials at national parks that “inappropriately disparage Americans” or cast the United States “in a negative light.”
The judge, Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, also ordered the Park Service to restore within three weeks any exhibits that it had dismantled or altered.
The ruling provides a temporary reprieve for the plaintiffs, a coalition of advocacy groups that sued over the executive order in February, while the litigation continues to unfold.
Here are a few specifics:
To comply with the president’s directive, the Park Service has taken down plaques about slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, a sign about climate change at Fort Sumter in South Carolina and a sign about Indigenous people at Acadia National Park in Maine.
Another federal judge has already ordered the Park Service not to make further changes to the slavery exhibit at the President’s House Site at Independence National Historical Park, as she considers a separate lawsuit filed by Philadelphia.
This seems a touchy decision. While it's important to provide historically accurate information in signage in our national parks, it's also important that the national parks remain neutral on political issues or agenda items, such as commentary on climate change; the purpose of this signage and information should be to inform, not to persuade.
Two of the lawsuit's plaintiffs released statements approving of the halting of signage changes:
Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources for the National Parks Conservation Association, one of the organizations that brought the lawsuit, said the ruling will help protect national parks from the administration’s effort “to erase history and science at these one-of-a-kind places.”
“National parks belong to the American people and censorship of any kind goes against the values these places represent,” he said.
Bill Wade, executive director for the Association of National Park Rangers, another organization that brought the lawsuit, said this is especially good news for National Parks employees who “have prided themselves for being able to provide truthful, accurate and unbiased information.”
That all depends on the topic; this is a more complicated and more subjective issue than it might seem at first glance. As noted above, these exhibits should inform, not persuade; it's easy to see how any such signs or displays that put forth a partisan message, such as anthropogenic climate change, would be objectionable and should be removed or altered. In contrast, a display or sign about history, including a frank and honest message about things like the history of slavery, should remain. It's a thorny issue.
Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam announced, "This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a commonwealth,"
Meanwhile, the judge's decision on Friday is only a pause, not a final order on the merits The lawsuit continues. Stay tuned.
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