Trump to Reshape National Parks in His Own Image, Orders Removal of Iconic 1863 Slave Photo.

Trump to Reshape National Parks in His Own Image, Orders Removal of Iconic 1863 Slave Photo.

In the USA.

The news as it trends

In a move unlike any other president before him—and in what some have called an attempt to reshape the National Park Service in his own image—Donald Trump has allegedly ordered the removal of slavery-related exhibits from national parks, including the historic 1863 photograph of Gordon, a formerly enslaved man whose whip-scarred back became a defining image of the Civil War.

The directive, issued through a March executive order, instructs the Interior Department to eliminate materials deemed to reflect “corrosive ideology” that disparages historic Americans.

Park officials have interpreted this broadly, targeting exhibits on racism, slavery, Indigenous persecution, and LGBTQ+ history.

Critics argue the decision is a dangerous attempt to sanitize America’s past, erasing painful truths that have long served as vital lessons in public memory and historical accountability.

The photograph of Gordon has historically been displayed at several National Park Service sites, most notably Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia, which includes exhibits on abolitionist John Brown’s raid and the broader history of slavery and resistance, and the President’s House Site in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which documents the lives of enslaved people held by George Washington during his presidency.

These parks were among those reportedly affected by the Trump administration’s directive.

Gordon’s photo, first published in 1863, remains one of the most powerful symbols of slavery’s brutality and has long been used in educational displays to confront America’s legacy of racial injustice.

Yetunde B reports for Yeyetunde’s Blog.