Overview

• The Washington Post reported that Park Service officials ordered the 1863 photograph known as The Scourged Back removed at one national park, citing anonymous sources who did not identify the site.
• An NPS spokesperson said all park signage is under review, arguing that materials overly focused on negative aspects of U.S. history can distort public understanding without broader context.
• More than thirty signs referencing racial discrimination and hostile attitudes toward formerly enslaved people are slated to be removed or partially covered, according to the reporting.
• The March executive order from President Trump directs Interior to remove information that “inappropriately disparage[s] Americans” and singles out Independence National Historical Park as reflecting a “corrosive ideology.”
• Orders and guidance referenced in the reports include changes at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and Philadelphia’s President’s House Site, while the widely reproduced photograph depicts the scarred back of an enslaved man believed to be Peter Gordon.