OLD CITY (KYW Newsradio) — The future of historical displays that tell the story of nine slaves that toiled at the President’s House in Old City while George Washington was president is in jeopardy as the Trump administration has ordered the removal of anything disparaging to American history. The deadline was Sept. 17.
But ask visitors to the historic Old City site and they hope the recognition of Washington’s slaves stays in place. Matt Janjanin said the history of slavery in the U.S. is something “that needs to be known.”
“So it doesn’t happen in the future, hopefully ever again,” he said.
William 6ix, who was touring the exhibit Thursday, said removing the displays would be “lying by omission” about American history.
“I never knew truth to be disparaging or facts to be disparaging. I think the worst thing would be the lies,” he said. “You can’t hide it. It’s a memorial.”
He also said getting rid of the displays won’t get rid of the history because of people that have already visited the site, who can pass down what they saw and captured while there.
“There will be one thousand more books about it. There'll be people like me who've taken photos about it, who posted on social media, recreate their monuments later, or another president who comes after this one and decides, I want to put it back,” said 6ix.
Visitor Maytee Santiago disagreed with the display removal because it breeds more isolation among American society.
“I think not,” she said. “We should welcome differences, welcome diversity in our culture, because that's what helps us grow.”