Slavery exhibit removed by Trump administration is returning to Independence Mall in Philadelphia

LocalPolitics
20 Feb 2026 • 1:38 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Workers are restoring an exhibit depicting the history of the nine people once enslaved in Philadelphia amid a legal fight between the city and the Trump Administration.

Mayor Cherelle Parker visited the site Thursday morning and saw the work being done, spokesperson Joe Grace said.

A federal judge had set a Friday deadline for the Interior Department to restore the exhibit on the people enslaved by George Washington at the former President’s House on Independence Mall.

Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe issued the deadline Wednesday even as the Justice Department appeals her order to reinstate the exhibit.