Philadelphia judge to examine slavery displays before deciding future of President's House exhibit

A judge will determine whether exhibits about slavery at Independence National Historical Park will have to be restored.

The city of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit seeking to have the President's House exhibit re-established after the National Park Service removed displays last week following a directive by President Trump. 

Eight days after panels were removed by National Park Service staff using crowbars and wrenches, dozens of people packed a federal courtroom to hear arguments from the city of Philadelphia and the federal government. 

One of the city's witnesses was Joyce Wilkerson, who worked for the city in the early 2000's when the President's House project was first introduced.

"You can stand in the President's House where Africans were enslaved and look across the street and see the Declaration of Independence, the Liberty Bell. This is the place where the story needs to be told," said Wilkerson, who worked as a Chief of Staff to former Philadelphia Mayor John Street.

The outdoor exhibit opened in 2010 and was meant to examine the paradox of slavery and freedom. Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived at the site, along with enslaved people.

Much of the city's argument centered around the longtime collaboration between the city of Philadelphia and the National Park Service, including the mutual partnership over the President's House exhibit. 

Everett Gillison, another former city employee who worked under former Mayor Michael Nutter, also testified Friday on behalf of the city. He said he had a visceral reaction to learning that the displays had been dismantled. 

"There's a gut punch that happened just by one person deciding that they were going to do something. That's not the way we work, that's not the way the Park Service has ever worked under my tenure," Gillison said.

Since the displays were taken down, community members and activists, including the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, have expressed outrage and called the removal an attempt to erase history. 

A spokesperson with the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, said it is implementing President Trump's Executive Order on Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, which "directed a review of certain interpretive content to ensure parks tell the full and accurate story of American history, including subjects that were minimized or omitted under the last administration."

The statement also said, "Claims that parks are erasing history or removing signs wholesale are inaccurate."

Friday in the courtroom, attorneys for the federal government argued the National Park Service has complete ownership of the exhibit and now has sole authority over what is displayed since a property agreement contract with the city expired in 2010. 

Judge Cythina Rufe interrupted and challenged that argument throughout the hearing.

"I love the pushback from the judge. The judge was absolutely incredulous about the contractual argument and the independent, dictatorial authority of the president. It's looking great in that courtroom," Michael Coard said, an activist, attorney, and founding member of Avenging the Ancestors Coalition.

The judge indicated she would likely make a ruling next week, but first wants to visit the site herself and examine the condition of the panels that were removed.