For the past few weeks, the Presidents House in Independence Mall in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood has been the epicenter of a firestorm focused on learning lessons from the past and just how far federal agencies under the Trump Administration would go to keep new generations from learning those lessons. That’s because, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, acting on orders from the National Parks Service, workers descended on the Presidents House at Independence National Historical Park — a place where Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived and conducted their executive branch business — and removed an exhibit that examined the history of slavery at the site. And now, on Presidents Day, a judge has ordered that the removal be undone and all “exhibits, panels, artwork, or other items” from the Presidents House site to be restored to the status it was in as of January 21, 2026 — a day before the crews removed the work. Independence Mall Feb 10 Rally at Independence Hall voices support for returning slavery exhibit Philadelphia Jan 30 ‘Can't go back': Court hearing begins over removal of slavery exhibit in Philly Philadelphia Jan 22 Philly sues federal government after Independence Mall slavery exhibit removed Independence Mall Jan 27 Shapiro takes legal action over removal of slavery exhibit at President's House In a decision on Monday, Cynthia M. Rufe, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ordered the United States Department of the Interior and the National Park Service to restore the exhibit that had been removed and prohibited them from making any changes to the site without mutual agreement from the City of Philadelphia. Earlier this month, Rufe required the panels removed from the site to be kept safe after the city sued the Department of the Interior and the National Parks Service due to the removal of the exhibit. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also joined in the lawsuit that called for the restoration of the exhibit. The judge ordered the exhibit restored and all video monitors and recordings that are part of the display to remain operable as the lawsuit continues to be litigated in court. With this ruling, Rufe ordered the exhibit to be restored immediately. The ruling came when protestors were at the Presidents House bringing attention to the issue. “We have won! We have won!” They chanted. “There’s no other blessing that we could have gotten today beyond this. It’s the ultimate,” Michael Coard with Avenging the Ancestors Coalition said. The city and organizations expect an appeal from the federal government. ...read more read less