22 June 2026 * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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After Court Clears Trump to Replace Slavery Exhibit at President’s House, Philadelphia Forum Confronts Historical Erasure and Fascism
America at 250: Trump Fascism, Historical Erasure, and the Battle Over Truth — June 26 on Independence Mall
EVENT DETAILS
Friday, June 26 6:00 pm
People’s Plaza, Independence Mall
Philadelphia, PA
Speakers: Michael Coard, Masaru Edmund Nakawatase, Dread Scott, and others
PHILADELPHIA, PA — On Friday, June 26, Refuse Fascism will convene an urgent outdoor public forum, “America at 250: Trump Fascism, Historical Erasure, and the Battle Over Truth,” at People’s Plaza on Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
Taking place on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, against the backdrop of Independence Hall and steps away from the President’s House memorial—where enslaved Africans were held in bondage as the foundations of the American republic were laid—the forum will examine the Trump administration’s growing assault on Black history, national memory, and truth itself.
The event comes at a pivotal moment. Last week, a federal appeals court cleared the way for the Trump administration to replace the slavery exhibit it removed at the President’s House Site on Independence Mall. The ruling hands Trump a victory in a broader effort to reshape how people understand America’s past—and what they will be prepared to accept in the future.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the Trump regime is escalating efforts to suppress and whitewash history, targeting museums, schools, public memorials, universities, and cultural institutions that tell the truth about white supremacy and resistance to it. The aim is not simply to erase uncomfortable truths, but to replace them with a mythology glorifying conquest, domination, and exclusion while obscuring the crimes and struggles that shaped this nation.
Featured speakers include:
Michael Coard, attorney and activist whose advocacy helped secure the creation of the President’s House slavery memorial and who is now at the forefront of efforts to restore the exhibit and defend the truthful public accounting of slavery at Independence Mall.
Dread Scott, an interdisciplinary artist whose art encourages viewers to re-examine ideals of American society. In 1989, the US Senate denounced and outlawed his artwork and President Bush declared it “disgraceful” because of its use of the American flag. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennial, Whitney Museum, MoMA/PS1, and galleries and street corners across the country.
Masaru Edmund Nakawatase, Japanese American civil rights organizer, educator, and peace advocate who was born in the Poston incarceration camp in Arizona during World War II.
“Americans in the 21st century thought official fascism was an impossibility in this country. They thought there were governmental guardrails that would protect the U.S. from becoming what Italy became when Mussolini took over in 1922, what Germany became when Hitler took over in 1933, and what Spain became when Franco took over in 1939,” said Michael Coard. “Although there are no governmental guardrails here, there are people-power guardrails in the form of powerful resistance by powerful anti-fascist organizations. Find out more by joining the resistance on June 26.”
“The battle over the President’s House memorial is not only about the past. It is about the future,” said Sam Goldman, national leader of Refuse Fascism and host of the event. “The Trump regime is working to whitewash history, demanding a sanitized patriotism stripped of the truth of this country’s history and current reality, particularly as it relates to white supremacy and the struggle against it. This is part of a broader effort to impose an official mythology of unquestioned American greatness while censoring educators and artists, reshaping museums and public institutions, criminalizing dissent, and conditioning millions to see critical thought itself as dangerous or un-American. What is being tested is not only what people know, but what they will learn to accept. If the history of slavery can be whitewashed at one of the most important historical sites in the country, what else will people be taught to overlook, excuse, or normalize? That is why gathering at Independence Mall on June 26—in the shadow of a memorial where the history of slavery is now being censored—could not be more urgent.”
The forum will explore why fascist movements seek to rewrite history, why Black history and liberation struggles are central targets, the connections between historical erasure and fascist rule, and the significance of confronting this reality as the nation marks its 250th anniversary.
Media interviews with speakers and organizers are available upon request.
Hosted by Refuse Fascism Philly as part of building a nationwide movement that is clear on the problem—Trump fascism—and uniting all who can be united to stop it through mass, nonviolent struggle demanding TRUMP MUST GO NOW.
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