A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restore the sites that were changed under a law Executive order Calling on the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks not to display items that “inappropriately trivialize Americans’ pasts or lives.”
The preliminary order issued by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelly in Massachusetts also orders a halt to any additional changes, writing that prosecutors have shown that these efforts are intended to “rewrite the nation’s history with a white pen.”
“History cannot be told honestly while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and accomplishments are an important part of our nation’s story,” the judge wrote.
The Trump administration must also submit a status report each week describing the progress it has made on these changes, the judge wrote.
“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 in national parks that do not conform to its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths,” Kelly wrote.
The matter comes in response to A February suit It was filed by conservation and historical organizations over National Park Service policies that the groups say have forced Park Service employees to remove or censor dozens of exhibits that engage American history and accurate and relevant scientific knowledge, including those related to slavery and climate change.
Many changes were in Philadelphia Independence National Historical ParkThe administration removed exhibits about the lives of nine people who were enslaved from the site in the 1790s during the reign of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Other changes included removing a banner at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona describing bubble basalt because it had an image of a visitor holding a Pride flag while films relating to the history of the work were removed from Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.
President Donald Trump signed on Executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks last year. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum He later directed the removal of “inappropriate partisan ideology” from museums, monuments, monuments and other public exhibits under federal control.
An email seeking comment from the Home Office was sent on Saturday.
Alan Spears, director of cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, said the ruling will help protect national parks from the administration’s efforts to “erase the history and science of these unique places.”
“National parks belong to the American people, and censorship of any kind is inconsistent with the values these places stand for,” he said.
This is particularly good news for national park employees who “pride themselves in their ability to provide truthful, accurate, and unbiased information,” said Bill Wade, executive director of the National Park Rangers Association, another organization that filed the lawsuit.