NAACP Statement on the Whitewashing of Slavery in the National Park Service’s Historical Reinterpretations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 7th, 2025

Contact: Chyna Fields, cfields@naacpnet.org

WASHINGTON - The NAACP condemns the growing attempts to whitewash American chattel slavery from the nation's public memory - efforts that are reportedly unfolding within the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service's reinterpretation of historic sites. This is not just historical revisionism - it is an assault on truth, a disservice to justice, and an insult to generations of Black Americans whose lives, labor, and legacies built this nation.

Let us be clear: slavery was not a side story. It was the engine of American growth for over two centuries - woven into the nation's laws, institutions, and wealth. Any attempt to soften, neutralize, or erase the brutal realities of this system is a betrayal of history and an affront to every ancestor who lived, resisted, and died under its cruelty.

Stripping enslaved people's stories from museum exhibits, monuments, and digital archives is not neutrality - it is erasure. Sanitizing language in educational materials is not sensitivity - it is complicity. We cannot allow a dangerous silence to settle over the truth.

"America cannot heal from what it refuses to confront," said NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson. "This nation owes its strength, culture, and very foundation to those whose blood and bondage made it possible. To erase that truth is to erase our identity. The NAACP will not stand idle while history is rewritten to comfort the powerful and silence the oppressed."

We demand that the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service not only restore but recommit to telling a full and unvarnished story of this country. One built on fully acknowledging the violence and dehumanization endured and making space for descendant communities to help shape how this history is presented.

We also call for real investment in the professionals and public educators responsible for interpreting these sites. Only through truth-telling - rigorous, unflinching, and inclusive - can we foster proper understanding and reconciliation.

Historical truth is not negotiable. It is not political. It is a sacred responsibility to those who came before us and a necessary foundation for any justice we hope to achieve in the future.

The NAACP will continue to fight for that truth - loudly, unapologetically, and without compromise.

# # #

ABOUT NAACP

The NAACP advocates, agitates, and litigates for the civil rights due to Black America. Our legacy is built on the foundation of grassroots activism by the biggest civil rights pioneers of the 20th century and is sustained by 21st century activists. From classrooms and courtrooms to city halls and Congress, our network of members across the country works to secure the social and political power that will end race-based discrimination. That work is rooted in racial equity, civic engagement, and supportive policies and institutions for all marginalized people. We are committed to a world without racism where Black people enjoy equitable opportunities in thriving communities.

NOTE: The Legal Defense Fund - also referred to as the NAACP-LDF - was founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP, but now operates as a completely separate entity.