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23h ago

Park Service Starts Reinstalling Philadelphia Slavery Panels Under Judge’s Friday Deadline

The work follows a court injunction finding the government lacked authority to unilaterally change the site under a longstanding city–federal agreement.

National Parks Service workers gather as panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)
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People gather as panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe ordered the exhibit restored by 5 p.m. Friday after finding earlier noncompliance with her injunction.
  • National Park Service crews began reattaching the original panels Thursday at the President’s House on Independence Mall.
  • The Interior Department appealed to the Third Circuit and sought an emergency stay, arguing the administration controls NPS interpretive content.
  • Rufe’s order requires the items be preserved and bars installing any replacement materials without the City of Philadelphia’s agreement.
  • The 34 panels memorialize nine people enslaved by George Washington; they were removed Jan. 22 under a 2025 executive order and had been stored near the National Constitution Center.