Critics say Trump's 'partisan' censorship of National Parks 'puts all Americans on notice'
Federal officials have reportedly identified and flagged numerous signs, exhibits and plaques at National Park Service sites that address climate change, slavery and the imprisonment of Native Americans for revision or removal. This move is based on a March executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at eliminating content deemed to “inappropriately disparage Americans.”
The New York Times reported Tuesday that at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, Park Service staff have marked signage warning about rising sea levels driven by climate change for review or alteration. In Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, exhibits exposing the brutality of slavery are under scrutiny.
And in St. Augustine, Florida, language describing the incarceration of Native Americans inside the Spanish-built Castillo de San Marcos is now being examined by officials, per the report.
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Trump's order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," directed the Department of the Interior and by extension the Park Service to evaluate materials at 433 historic sites and museums. The goal was to root out content that fails to "emphasize the progress of the American people" or “beauty, abundance and grandeur of the American landscape.”
Staff were required to flag questionable content, with removals slated by September 17.
Critics warn this sweeping review risks erasing difficult chapters of U.S. history and marginalizing the stories of people of color, women, LGBT individuals, and Native Americans.
When the order was issued in March, park groups strongly denounced it.
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Alan Spears, National Parks Conservation Association Senior Director of Cultural Resources, said in a statement at the time:
“Across the country, our national parks protect vital American history, from the birthplaces of American presidents to the birthplaces of our democracy. Our parks tell stories from the civil rights movement, the Civil War, and beyond."
He added: “The president’s executive order could jeopardize the Park Service’s mission to protect and interpret American history. The order puts all Americans on notice that this administration intends to review Interior Department monuments, memorials and other sites for so-called partisan ideology."
The report further noted that many Republicans are getting behind these efforts to resist what they call "woke talking points."
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Sen. Jim Banks (R‑Ind.) stated in a statement to the Times: “Our monuments should celebrate our founders and tell the story of what makes America great, not push woke talking points to please radical activists.”
Rolonda Teal, an anthropologist who has researched the park, told the Times that omitting the full context skews the narrative. She said, “If you don’t talk about the names of the slaves, the names of the enslavers, the whipping of the slaves, then you’re only telling white history in America.”
She added: “Why would you visit a plantation if you don’t want to hear the whole story, and how could it be a plantation if there weren’t slaves?” “So that’s the ridiculousness of it all,” she concluded.
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