Trump administration ordered to restore national park signage on climate change, slavery
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstall signs removed as part of an executive order to purge language in national parks that allegedly negatively impacts America on topics such as climate change, slavery, Indigenous peoples and LGBTQ+ history.
The order led to the removal of President Washington’s slaves at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, signs about climate threats at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, and the pride flag at Stonewall National Monument in New York City, according to the lawsuit challenging the decision.
In California, language regarding the internment of Japanese Americans at Manzanar National Historic Site as well as the history of Indigenous people in Death Valley and Muir Woods has come under scrutiny.
A preliminary injunction was issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Boston, who sided with a coalition of preservation and historical groups and ordered all language removed with an order that it be reinstated before July 4. Earlier this year, another federal the judge ordered Signs relating to Washington’s slaves have been restored.
In Friday’s injunction, Kelley accused the Trump administration of trying to “rewrite the Nation’s history with a white pen” and said national parks play an important role in telling America’s multifaceted history, including “the good, the bad and the ugly.”
“Because the defendants feel it is important to purge the parks of these undeniable truths in anticipation of the 250th Anniversary of our great nation,” he wrote, “it is equally important that our common history be told honestly and fully restored to properly honor the remarkable achievements of the United States by the 250th Anniversary.”
A U.S. Department of Internal Affairs spokesman rejected the decision, calling it the work of a “liberal activist judge.”
“The Department will review our appeal options this weekend as we celebrate UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House in honor of our nation’s 250th anniversary with the greatest president in our nation’s history, President Donald J. Trump,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Trump initially signed the agreement executive order It argues that in March 2025, a revisionist movement sought to undermine American history by replacing objective facts with a distorted, ideologically driven narrative.
“Under this historic revision, our Nation’s unique legacy of advancing freedom, individual rights, and human happiness is recast as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irreparably flawed,” the resolution said.
Under the order, more than 430 sites under the National Park Service’s jurisdiction were told to review language on monuments, memorials, statues and signs to ensure they do not disparage Americans past or present, with language added during former President Biden’s administration being closely monitored. QR codes have also been added to sites to encourage visitors to report signs they believe violate the order.
A coalition was formed in February, including the National Parks Conservation Association and the American Assn. For State and Local History, Assn. National Park Rangers and the Union of Concerned Scientists filed a lawsuit in federal court in Boston, claiming the order erases American history and science.
“National parks serve as living classrooms for our country, where science and history come alive for visitors,” Alan Spears, the parks conservation association’s senior director of cultural resources, said in February. “As Americans, we deserve national parks that tell the stories of our country’s triumphs and sufferings. We can deal with the facts.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
