Trump's Racism Takes A Big Loss In Court
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits and signs about slavery and issues like climate change to the nation's national parks and monuments.
The effort to rewrite history to erase the prominence, struggles, and contributions of non-white Americans has been a central piece of the second Trump administration.
Donald Trump is not only trying to redefine the role of the federal government as only operating in service to the billionaire class and rewrite his own place in history, but the entire Trump administration is attempting to erase the history of those who are not white and male.
One of the most insidious attempts at erasing history has been happening in our national parks and monuments.
National parks and monuments are for all Americans to enjoy and learn from. They are a piece of our free public culture, but they have been under assault by the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Boston made an argument for the public good while ruling against the Trump administration.
It bears emphasizing that the public ultimately bears the brunt of Defendants’ actions. Everyday park visitors—young, old, and from all backgrounds—look to the National Park system to learn and enhance their understanding of history, science, and this Nation. Defendants’ continued censorship of interpretive materials disfavored by this Administration diminishes the public’s collective ability to engage critically and thoughtfully with these topics. Cf. City of Philadelphia, 820 F. Supp. 3d. at 343 (“[T]here is a public interest in the preservation and exhibition of . . . history.”).
By its terms, the Order erases the history of countless people; alienates communities from public spaces; limits the availability of scientific information relevant to ensuring the long-term preservation of the parks themselves; and impairs the mission of the NPS to preserve the parks “for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”
The Executive Order, in fact, tarnishes the legacy of this great Nation by attempting to remove these items in time for, and in honor of, the 250th anniversary of our Nation’s creation. The gravamen of these public interests cannot be overstated. On the other side of the ledger, Defendants contend that, as a practical matter, the requested relief would impose administrative burdens on the Government.
The Trump administration argued that prohibiting the president from whitewashing history interfered with his ability to run the Executive Branch.
The judge didn’t buy it, and ruled:
