Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro backed the City of Philadelphia’s lawsuit challenging the dismantling of slavery exhibits in Independence National Historical Park earlier this week.
Shapiro filed an amicus brief on Tuesday in support of the lawsuit filed against the Trump administration. The National Park Service is currently holding the slavery exhibits — which were dismantled last week — in the National Constitution Center.
In the Jan. 27 brief, Shapiro accused the Trump administration of “whitewashing history,” and denying “Pennsylvanians and others the opportunity to learn more about a part of our history that cannot be ignored.”
Shapiro also emphasized the need to strike a balance between federal and local authorities.
“Despite the importance of federalism, the current federal administration has sought to trample over the constitutional role of states and by extension local governments,” Shapiro wrote.
The Trump administration did not destroy the plaques after removing them from the President’s House in Independence Park last week. Rather, the dismantled exhibits will remain within the National Constitution Center until the matter is settled in court.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker — who graduated from the Fels Institute of Government in 2016 — brought the lawsuit against the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior on Jan. 22. In its complaint, the city argued that the National Park Service violated federal law and breached a 2006 agreement with the City by dismantling the exhibit “without notice.”
Following the initial lawsuit, a spokesperson for the Interior Department wrote that the department encouraged Philadelphia “to focus on getting their jobless rates down and ending their reckless cashless bail policy” rather than “filing frivolous lawsuits in the hopes of demeaning our brave Founding Fathers who set the brilliant road map for the greatest country in the world.”
The removal of the exhibit — which includes displays at a memorial honoring the nine people enslaved by George Washington — came after 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to review national sites and remove displays that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living” in March 2025.
In July 2025, the Trump administration’s review flagged more than a dozen displays about slavery. While the administration set a September 2025 deadline for the removal, the exhibits were not dismantled until nearly four months later.
Senior reporter Arti Jain covers state and local politics and can be reached at jain@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies economics and political science. Follow her on X @arti_jain_.