Rally underway at Independence Mall in support of returning slavery exhibit

A rally is underway at the President’s House at Independence Mall on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, to call for the return of a slavery exhibit that was removed from the site earlier this year.

The exhibit at the President’s House examined the life of slaves who lived and worked there as President George Washington served as the country’s first president in Philadelphia.

The exhibit was taken down by the Trump administration after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 that orders the government to “take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to ensure that all public monuments, memorials, statues, markers or similar properties within the Department’s jurisdiction do not contain descriptions, depictions or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”

Organizers of the rally said that it is intended to be “a public demonstration demanding the preservation and truthful telling of American history—specifically the stories of the nine enslaved Africans who lived and labored at the site of the nation’s first White House.”

The City of Philadelphia has sued to have the panels from the exhibit returned and a judge is weighing how to rule at this time.

This is a developing story; check back for more updates.