There is a photo called “The Scourged Back.” It shows a formerly enslaved man, his skin carved with the evidence of what this country did to him. It is one of the most powerful images of the Civil War era. And in September 2025, the Trump administration ordered it removed from Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia.
That photo is not an opinion. It is not ideology. It is a scar on a man’s body, and they want you to stop looking at it.
Under a March 2025 executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the administration directed the Department of the Interior to remove signage, exhibits, and educational materials from over 400 national park sites that “inappropriately disparage Americans,” according to The Hill. In practice, that means anything about slavery, racism, forced removal of Indigenous peoples, or the persecution of marginalized communities is now flagged for erasure.
What’s Already Gone
The damage is not theoretical. It is happening now. At Harpers Ferry in West Virginia, more than 30 signs documenting racism faced by formerly enslaved people were slated for removal, as reported by The Washington Post. At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York, a display referencing slavery, Indigenous massacres, and Japanese American incarceration was taken down entirely.
Then in January 2026, workers with crowbars dismantled “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia, according to the Equal Justice Initiative. That exhibit had stood for over 15 years, telling the stories of nine enslaved people who served George Washington. Their names (Austin, Paris, Hercules, Oney Judge, and others) were engraved on a memorial wall. The plaques around them? Ripped out.
Philadelphia sued the Interior Department and the National Park Service the same day, arguing the removal violated a 2006 agreement requiring the city’s consent for changes to the site.
“African American history is American history, and this is an intentional effort to erase history and whitewash,” Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson told The New York Times.
The Playbook Is Clear
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed national parks to “focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people,” according to NPR. Historian Kevin Stanley, speaking with KUAF, called it a “triumphalist rewriting” that “insults the intelligence of average Americans.”
This is the same energy Orwell warned about. Control the past, control the future. Nas said it different: “The world is yours” only works when you know the full truth about the world you inherited.
Why This Matters
National parks are not just hiking trails and scenic overlooks. For Black Americans, sites like Fort Pulaski, Harpers Ferry, and the President’s House are some of the few federally maintained spaces that acknowledge what happened to us on this land. These are not “negative” stories. They are our stories. Without them, the next generation visits these sites and learns nothing about the people who built them under the whip.
PEN America called it “blatant erasure of history” and an assault on the basic rights to read and learn. The National Parks Conservation Association is urging Congress to reverse the directives and restore educational content.
Meanwhile, a grassroots coalition of librarians, historians, and data experts launched the Save Our Signs Project, archiving over 10,000 crowdsourced photos of park signage before it disappears.
The Takeaway
You cannot build a better country by hiding how it was actually built. If your version of American greatness requires erasing the scars on a man’s back, that is not patriotism. That is propaganda. Speak up, document what you see, and support organizations like NPCA and PEN America fighting to keep the record straight. History that makes you uncomfortable is still history. And it belongs to all of us.
