Trump Administration Reportedly Moves to Pull Iconic Photo of Enslaved Man’s Scarred Back and Slavery-Related Displays from National Parks
A Civil War–era photograph widely considered one of the most powerful images of slavery may soon disappear from U.S. national parks and museums under an order reportedly tied to former President Donald Trump’s administration.
The photograph in question is the 1863 portrait of Gordon, an escaped enslaved man, famously known as “The Scourged Back.” The image, which shows the man’s back covered in deep scars from repeated whippings, has long been a centerpiece in exhibits about the realities of slavery.
But according to the Washington Post, Trump-era officials have been working to remove Gordon’s image — along with other interpretive materials addressing racial violence and discrimination — as part of a broader effort to reshape how American history is presented.
In a statement to PEOPLE, however, a White House spokesperson dismissed the reports as “fake news,” saying the exhibit is simply under review for compliance with federal directives.
The Post reported that the review stems from Trump’s March 27 executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The order directs the Department of the Interior to “remove materials that promote a corrosive ideology or portray historic Americans in a way that unfairly maligns their character.”
National Park Service spokesperson Rachel Pawlitz said in a statement that while the image of Gordon remains displayed for now, the agency is reviewing exhibits to ensure they do not “overemphasize the negative aspects of American history without recognizing broader context or the nation’s progress.”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes “The Scourged Back” as “perhaps the most famous photograph of an enslaved person from the Civil War era,” and notes that the scars on Gordon’s back are evidence of “severe and repeated whippings.”
Critics argue that removing such materials is a dangerous step toward sanitizing U.S. history.
“This is a dramatic expansion of federal power over how Americans learn about the past,” Jonathan Zimmerman, a University of Pennsylvania historian who studies education policy, told the Post. “And it’s coming from an administration that has repeatedly said education should be a state and local matter.”
Documents reviewed by the outlet reportedly show that the administration is targeting displays that reference racism, slavery, homophobia, sexism, and the persecution of Indigenous peoples.
The push comes just weeks after Trump posted on Truth Social criticizing the Smithsonian Institution, accusing its museums of being too “woke.”
“Museums across Washington — and across the country — have become the last stronghold of ‘woke,’” Trump wrote in an August 19 post. “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, focused entirely on how terrible America is, how awful slavery was, and how unsuccessful the oppressed have been. Nothing about triumph, nothing about hope, nothing about the future.”