Bucks Co. Students Protest Removal Of Slavery Exhibit In Philadelphia

NEW HOPE, PA — Solebury School students and faculty members traveled to Philadelphia on Friday to protest against the removal of a slavery exhibit at the George Washington House at the Independence National Historical Park.

The students and teachers led a "Hands Off Our History" teach-in and protest in support of the exhibit, "Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” an outdoor exhibit which documented the business of slavery and the lives of nine enslaved people owned by President George Washington.

The exhibit was taken down by the federal government under a "Restoring Truth And Sanity To American History" executive order signed by President Donald Trump. Click here to read the order.

Don Kaplan, who chairs the history department at Solebury and who had participated in a candlelight vigil at the site the previous weekend, worked with fellow teachers and school deans to organize the trip to the city. Kaplan has been an advocate for encouraging students to push beyond a simplistic version of American history and to delve into more complex and thought-provoking areas.

A student attaches a sign to the now vacant story board. (Photo by John Flak)

“The President’s House exhibit exploring the history of the nine enslaved individuals is an excellent opportunity to embrace this concept,” Kaplan said. “George Washington, who I believe was one of our greatest presidents, the ultimate champion of liberty, denied people their own freedom through enslavement. This fact cannot be ignored or forgotten. And this exhibit allows all who experience it to consider the same question, 'How did the Founders advocate for freedom while still enslaving others?' This is why we journeyed down to the site at 6th & Market to draw attention to the removal and read the texts of the removed placards aloud to ponder the impact of these nine enslaved individuals’ lives and the full history of America.”

Solebury School teachers and nearly 40 students were joined by criminal defense attorney, columnist, and radio host Michael Coard, Esq., Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, students from Friends Select School, and other activists. The students held protest signs about the exhibit's removal and the enslaved people whose stories were taken down.

“Sometimes, when issues seem too big to tackle on your own, it is so critical to remember that there is always something you can do,” said student Liv Price '27. “Attending the protest was incredibly important to me because it gave me a chance to share my voice on something I care deeply about: the erasure of history is not something I’m willing to be indifferent to or stagnant about.”

Assistant Director of College Counseling, Erin Wallace, prepared the music and led the group in singing, “This Little Light of Mine” and “We Shall Overcome.”

(Photo by John Flak)

(Photo by John Flak)

“This experience was incredibly special to me, and I was moved by the students’ words, handmade posters, and their presence and passion,” Wallace said. “It is so important that we use our voices and do this work, and I was grateful to have been a part of this day.”

“I was trained as a historian,” said Head of School Tom Wilschutz, who supported the event. “I believe facts matter. Everyone needs to acquaint themselves with all the facts, good and bad, about their past and present. Democracies don’t erase their facts, they don’t whitewash them, they don’t ignore them. If Martin Luther King Jr. was right and the arc of the moral universe truly bends towards justice, it is because we learn from our history and our facts: this history, these facts, light the way to a more just future. I am proud to lead a school where our students know this truth and have the courage to stand up for their beliefs, and for democracy. That’s why they traveled to Philadelphia, the seat of democracy, to bear witness to yet another attempt to sanitize our history.”

Said student Ali Harris (Class of 2026), "A lot of people my age are feeling very hopeless in the current political climate, and that there isn't much they can personally do. It's this feeling of overwhelming powerlessness. And something like a student-organized protest, where people actually end up attending, participating in, and understanding how many people are really listening to you, can feel very hopeful. If everyone does something, we'll have a lot of people doing something, and then change can really happen."

As the group left Philadelphia, the students stopped to tape their own posters on the wall, Kaplan said. “The reality is that nightly, the artwork put up by citizens, Philadelphia students, and others is torn down. But we put up our posters, and it was an invigorating moment for the kids.”