03/07/2025
A few years ago, Blake Spencer explored the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington with two of his friends. The Howard University graduate wanted to check out the area and learn more about the abolitionist who, some 150 years ago, had been a towering figure on the school’s board of trustees.
Their excursion was an “incredible” thing, said Spencer, 22. The site preserves the home where Douglass spent the last 17 years of his life and sits atop a 50-foot hill east of the Anacostia River, offering views of the Washington Monument and neighboring Maryland and Virginia. Visitors can tour the grounds, watch a film on the powerful orator’s life, and soak in exhibitions that feature his speeches and writings on Black civil rights.
But as the U.S. prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday that Douglass used as an opportunity to challenge racial inequality, something else might also catch a visitor’s eye. They might see a new sign prompting them to use a QR code to report information they come across that could be considered “negative about either past or living Americans.”
This signage has been posted at National Park Service sites — in compliance with directions from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. His intent is to help carry out President Donald Trump’s “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Many fear that this move could have a chilling effect on rangers who simply want to do their job — and also undermine the vital public education role of these sites.
Many fear that the move could have a chilling effect on rangers who simply want to do their job.
