A person views posted signs on the locations of the now removed explanatory panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at President's House Site in Philadelphia, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
At President Donald Trump’s instruction, the National Park Service removed panels offering slavery history on Independence Mall.
Officials and lawmakers from across the Philadelphia region are condemning President Donald Trump’s administration for removing an exhibition on slavery from the President’s House historic site on Independence Mall.
However, one Republican lawmaker from the Pittsburgh area feels differently.
“When did we become a people who talk more about our failures and weaknesses than celebrating our successes to overcome those weaknesses,” state Rep. Valerie Gaydos (R-Allegheny) said on her personal Facebook account while responding to a Fox 43 video about the story.
“Celebrating and constantly beating people into their past failures is just ridiculous and unhealthy. Good riddance. Focus on the positive.”
Screenshot of State Rep. Valerie Gaydos’ response
This is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to erase slavery, civil rights movements and other uncomfortable events from American history, especially when they are displayed on public lands.
The National Park Service removed the signs from the President’s House because of an executive order signed by Trump last year that aims to remove displays that disparage the country’s past.
In response, the city of Philadelphia sued the NPS and US Department of the Interior in federal court for removing the signs without notice, which violates congressional law, and an agreement NPS made with the city in 2006.
US House Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia), Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia), and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Delaware) sent a letter to the Department of the Interior and NPS demanding answers as to why the signage was removed.
“Trying to remove that history just because it makes some people uncomfortable is deeply troubling. When a government starts hiding parts of its past, it begins to look more like a regime that rewrites history rather than one that learns from it,” the letter read.
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