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Historians, curators say sign and exhibit removal at historical sites erases history

Trump administration officials will soon determine which signs and exhibits at the country’s 433 national historical sites and parks must be removed because of language or materials that “inappropriately” disparage Americans.

As part of the Restoring Truth and Sanity to American history executive order, the Trump administration requested site workers and visitors to report materials and exhibits portraying American history as “inherently racist, sexist, oppressive or otherwise irredeemably flawed.”

The result will likely be the removal of information about enslaved people, the mistreatment of Native Americans and other minority populations, as well as information about climate change.

Historian Kirsten Delegard, part of the University of Minnesota Save Our Signs project, and anthropologist Rolanda Teal, who studies the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, join Here & Now to talk about what the removal of information means for site visitors and for the country.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom