Federal Judge Cynthia Rufe issued an order for the immediate restoration of an exhibition on slavery at the historic President's House site in Philadelphia. The exhibition, which had been in place since 2010, was dismantled in late January by the administration of Donald Trump. This decision sparked numerous protests and a lawsuit from city authorities, who accused the federal government of arbitrarily removing historical facts from public space.

Court Order for the Government

Federal Judge Cynthia Rufe ordered the National Park Service to immediately restore panels about slavery in Philadelphia.

Criticism of Arbitrary Power

In its justification, the court stated that the administration cannot change historical facts according to its own whims and preferences.

Success for Local Authorities

The ruling is the result of a lawsuit by Philadelphia and intense social protests against the removal of educational elements from 2010.

Federal Judge Cynthia Rufe issued a landmark ruling, ordering the National Park Service to immediately restore all elements of the exhibition dedicated to slavery in Philadelphia. The exhibition was located at the President’s House Site, a historic site where George Washington resided during his presidency along with a group of enslaved individuals. The dismantling of the exhibition occurred in late January 2026, which met with fierce opposition from residents, historians, and city authorities. The President's House in Philadelphia served as the residence of U.S. presidents from 1790 to 1800, before the capital was moved to Washington, D.C. The discovery of the building's foundations in 2000 became the impetus for creating a memorial commemorating both the presidents and the nine enslaved Africans who worked there. In her justification, Judge Rufe sharply criticized the actions of the federal administration. She stated that government agencies cannot arbitrarily decide what constitutes historical truth based on the "whims of new leadership." The order includes the reinstallation of all information panels, displays, and video materials that were part of the permanent exhibition since 2010. The judge emphasized that the government appears to treat truth not as an obvious fact, but as the property of state officials, which is unacceptable in a state governed by law. „An agency cannot arbitrarily decide what is true based on its own whims or the whims of new leadership.” — Cynthia Rufe The case came to court after Philadelphia filed a lawsuit against the federal government, supported by numerous street demonstrations. The court's decision is a temporary injunction, effective until the final legal resolution of the dispute. Representatives of the White House and the National Park Service have not yet commented on the ruling, but it is perceived as a significant limitation on the administration's freedom to modify historical narratives within the National Park Service. U.S. federal law protects historical sites from sudden changes without a consultation procedure, which was one of the main legal arguments presented by the plaintiffs in this case. 16 years — the slavery exhibition had been part of Philadelphia's landscape Timeline of the Exhibition Dispute: December 2010 — Exhibition Opening; January 2026 — Panel Removal; February 2026 — Protests and Lawsuit; February 16, 2026 — Court Ruling

Mentioned People

  • Cynthia Rufe — Federal judge in Pennsylvania, appointed by George W. Bush, who issued the order to restore the exhibition.
  • George Washington — First U.S. president, whose former residence is the site of the dispute over commemorating slavery.
  • Donald Trump — U.S. president whose administration made the decision to dismantle the exhibition.