HARPERS FERRY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The Trump administration has ordered the removal of exhibits and signs related to slavery at several national parks, including Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia, according to reporting by The Washington Post.
The directive follows President Donald Trump’s March executive order instructing the Interior Department to eliminate what he called a “corrosive ideology” that disparages historic Americans.
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National Park Service officials, according to The Post, are interpreting that order to include materials addressing racism, sexism, slavery, gay rights, or the persecution of Indigenous people.
Four people familiar with the matter told The Post that park staff have been directed to identify displays that may fall under the new guidelines.
At Harpers Ferry, where abolitionist John Brown led his famous 1859 raid to arm enslaved people for revolt, staff flagged more than 30 signs that mention racial discrimination and hostility faced by freed Black Americans.
According to The Post, Park Service officials marked those submissions as “out of compliance,” and staff have been told to cover or remove the information.
The new policy has also affected other historic sites, including the President’s House Site in Philadelphia, where George Washington enslaved people.
Additionally, The Post reported that Park Service officials ordered the removal of a widely known 1863 photograph depicting a formerly enslaved man with scars from whippings on his back.
The image, known as “The Scourged Back,” was circulated during the Civil War and shocked many in the North when it first appeared.
Park Service spokesperson Rachel Pawlitz defended the reviews of signage in a statement to The Post.
“Interpretive materials that disproportionately emphasize negative aspects of U.S. history or historical figures, without acknowledging broader context or national progress, can unintentionally distort understanding rather than enrich it,” Pawlitz said.
Interior Department officials, according to The Post, have also created policies requiring employees to report signage or gift shop items deemed out of compliance. They even asked park visitors to flag questionable material.
However, The Post reported that most of the feedback received from visitors criticized the administration’s approach and instead praised the parks.
The changes at Harpers Ferry are significant because of the site’s central role in the story of slavery and abolition. John Brown’s 1859 raid there is often viewed as a catalyst for the Civil War.
