Overview
- The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously vacated a February injunction on Thursday, June 18, ruling the National Park Service may replace the slavery exhibit at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia.
- A Massachusetts federal judge separately ordered nationwide restoration of removed park materials under a June district-court injunction, and the Interior Department and Justice Department have appealed and sought stays that keep outcomes unsettled.
- NPS posted proposed replacement panels online in April that appellate judges described as “full of historical context,” but historians and advocacy groups say the text softens Washington’s role in slavery and amounts to whitewashing.
- Philadelphia sued after NPS removed the panels in January under President Trump’s 2025 executive order; the appeals court rejected the city’s argument that a cooperative agreement gives it veto power over federal park exhibits.
- Court filings show more than 50 items were removed from roughly 37 park sites, NPS says some large metal panels remain unrepaired, and agency lawyers warn full restoration would be a complex task unlikely to be finished before July 4.