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Philadelphia slavery exhibit featuring Absalom Jones reinstalled at President’s House

February 20, 2026

[Episcopal News Service] The National Park Service on Feb. 19 reinstalled an open-air exhibit about slavery featuring a panel on the Rev. Absalom Jones, the first Black ordained Episcopal priest, at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after a federal judge ordered its reinstatement with a Feb. 20 deadline. On January 28, four days before the start of February, Black History Month, the National Park Service removed the exhibit, “The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation.” It opened in 2010 on the site where Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived in the 1790s. The exhibit was removed in response to President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order prohibiting national sites from showcasing negative aspects of U.S. history, including slavery. “Absalom Jones holds a vital place in the history of the United States and in the moral and spiritual foundations of our country,” the Rev. Martini Shaw, rector of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia, told Episcopal News Service in a Feb. 20 email. Jones founded St. Thomas in 1792 and served as the church’s first rector. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration filed a lawsuit in federal court the same day the exhibit was removed. On Feb. 16, U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe ordered the Trump administration to restore the exhibit. Her ruling also bars further alterations to the site. The Trump administration on Feb. 17 said it would appeal Rufe’s order, arguing that it alone can decide what stories are told at National Park Service-run sites. The lawsuit is ongoing. “While we rejoice and celebrate the most recent actions, we remain prayerfully vigilant and alert to the possible future responses. It remains our sincere hope that as America commemorates its 250th anniversary, the fullness of its history – including Black history – will be acknowledged, honored and embraced,” Shaw said. “Certainly, a part of that history includes the important role that Absalom Jones played in the foundation building of our nation.” Jones was born into slavery in 1746 and released from bondage in 1784 following the American Revolution. His feast day in The Episcopal Church’s Lesser Feasts and Fasts calendar is Feb. 13, the date commemorating his death in 1818 at the age of 71. -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.