The National Parks Service has restored the original Harriet Tubman material featured on a webpage about the Underground Railroad after garnering outrage over its removal.
In February, a photo and a quote from of the abolitionist leader was removed from the top of a page titled “What Is the Underground Railroad?”
The content was replaced with a collage of Underground Railroad stamps from the U.S. Postal Service that highlight “Black/White Cooperation” in transporting escaped slaves to freedom in the north.
The site also removed references to the Fugitive Slave Act and a mural of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first Black regiments to serve in the Civil War.
“Changes to the Underground Railroad page on the National Park Service’s website were made without approval from NPS leadership nor department leadership,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
The department did not say who ordered the changes, but President Trump has made several executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across government agencies.
The changes to the Underground Railroad page were originally detailed in a Washington Post expose on Sunday and immediately drew widespread criticism.
Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., called the removal “an attack on truth, an attempt to erase history that would help us improve society today, a refusal to be uncomfortable and engaged in changing harmful policies and practices.”
Last month, the Department of Defense was similarly criticized after removing content about Jackie Robinson and other Black service members’ time in the Army, as well as information about the Navajo Code Talkers’ contributions in World War II. That material was also restored after pushback.
With News Wire Services