Bucks County Joins Lawsuit to Restore Slavery Exhibit in Philadelphia

The outdoor exhibit documented the lives of enslaved people owned by George Washington.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Bucks County has joined neighboring counties in filing an amicus brief in support of the City of Philadelphia's court filings seeking to restore a slavery exhibit at the President's House Site in Philadelphia. The exhibit, which was recently removed by the U.S. National Park Service under a "Restoring Truth And Sanity To American History" executive order, documented the business of slavery and the lives of nine enslaved people owned by President George Washington.

Why it matters

The counties argue that attempts to erase evidence of history do not heal the past, but rather make society vulnerable to repeating its failures. They believe that confronting the faults of history head-on is necessary to achieve the country's founding vision of equality for all people.

The details

The outdoor exhibit, "Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation," was located at the President's House Site in Philadelphia, which marks the site of the nation's executive mansion in the late 1700s where Presidents Washington and Adams lived and worked with their households. After the series of panels were taken down by the National Park Service, the City of Philadelphia filed suit to restore the exhibit.

  • The exhibit was recently removed by the U.S. National Park Service under a "Restoring Truth And Sanity To American History" executive order.
  • Bucks County joined neighboring counties in filing an amicus brief this week in support of the City of Philadelphia's court filings seeking to restore the exhibit.

The players

Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia

Chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners.

Cherelle Parker

Mayor of Philadelphia.

Jamila H. Winder

Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.

Richard Womack

Delaware County Council Chair.

Josh Maxwell

Chair of the Chester County Board of Commissioners.

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What they’re saying

“Attempts to erase evidence of our history do not heal the stains of the past – quite the opposite, they make us weak and vulnerable to repeating our failures.”

— Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, Chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners (Patch.com)

“Instead of white-washing our history, we should be taking action to ensure that all members of our community, no matter their backgrounds, can live the American Dream. We must stand firm on our convictions that our history makes us stronger, better, and braver.”

— Jamila H. Winder, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners (Patch.com)

“A society that edits its history, instead of continuing to learn from it, is bound to repeat its worst mistakes.”

— Marcel Pratt, Philadelphia Managing Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP (Patch.com)

What’s next

The judge will decide on the City of Philadelphia's lawsuit to restore the slavery exhibit at the President's House Site.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing debate over how to accurately and honestly represent the history of slavery in the United States, and the importance of confronting the country's complicated past in order to move forward and achieve true equality.