names
of
enslaved
people
who
lived
in
the
President’s
House
(Photo
by
Matthew
Hatcher/Getty
Images)
The
Trump
administration
is
trying
to
memory-hole
slavery,
and
a
federal
judge
is
running
out
of
patience
with
their
shenanigans.
At
a
hearing
last
week
over
the
Trump
administration’s
decision
to
rip
out
materials
discussing
slavery
at
George
Washington’s
former
Philadelphia
residence
Senior
U.S.
District
Judge
Cynthia
Rufe
—
a
George
W.
Bush
appointee!
—
delivered
a
sharp
rebuke
to
the
DOJ
lawyers
defending
the
government’s
actions.
The
exhibit
in
question,
located
on
Independence
Mall,
was
created
by
the
City
of
Philadelphia
in
partnership
with
the
National
Park
Service
and
tells
the
story
of
the
nine
enslaved
people
who
lived
and
labored
in
Washington’s
home.
Earlier
this
year,
federal
workers
reportedly
took
a
crowbar
to
the
plaques,
citing
President
Donald
Trump’s
executive
order
purporting
to
“restore
truth
and
sanity
to
American
history.”
But
let’s
be
so
fucking
for
real
right
now,
it’s
a
literal
whitewashing
of
it.
Judge
Rufe
was
not
impressed.
“You
can’t
erase
history
once
you’ve
learned
it,”
she
said.
“It
doesn’t
work
that
way.”
That
theme
only
sharpened
as
the
hearing
went
on.
Assistant
U.S.
Attorney
Gregory
in
den
Berken
attempted
to
defend
the
removals
by
gesturing
vaguely
at
disagreement
and
discretion.
“Although
many
people
feel
strongly
about
this
one
way,
other
people
may
disagree
or
feel
strongly
another
way,”
he
said,
adding,
“Ultimately,
the
government
gets
to
choose
the
message
it
wants
to
convey.”
Danger,
Will
Robinson.
Though
appearing
before
a
Republican-appointed
judge,
it
does
NOT
mean
they’re
cool
with
the
current
administration’s
we-get-to-rewrite-history
plan.
Judge
Rufe
cut
off
the
AUSA,
according
to
reports,
saying,
“That
is
a
dangerous
statement
you
are
making.
It
is
horrifying
to
listen
to,”
she
said.
“It
changes
on
the
whims
of
someone
in
charge?
I’m
sorry,
that
is
not
what
we
elected
anybody
for.”
“Dangerous.”
“Horrifying.”
A
federal
judge
is
characterizing
statements
made
by
the
DOJ
with
this
language.
That’s
what
it
is
like
to
be
an
AUSA
in
the
year
of
our
lord
2026.
No
wonder
they’re
taking
to
social
media
to
recruit
saps
like
fraudulent
telemarketers.
At
present,
the
government
has
stripped
the
site
of
all
substantive
discussion
of
the
enslaved
people
who
lived
there,
leaving
only
their
names
—
Austin,
Paris,
Hercules,
Christopher
Sheels,
Richmond,
Giles,
Oney
Judge,
Moll,
and
Joe
—
engraved
into
a
cement
wall.
Plaintiffs
are
asking
the
court
to
order
the
exhibit
restored,
and
Judge
Rufe
instructed
DOJ
to
ensure
that
the
remaining
materials
are
not
damaged
any
further,
and
she
intends
to
personally
inspect
the
removed
materials.
She
also
indicated
she
intends
to
rule
swiftly,
particularly
with
the
nation’s
250th
birthday
celebration
looming
and
a
surge
of
visitors
expected
at
Independence
Mall.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].