But sites like these, which offer a fuller picture of American history, are now under threat. In March, President Trump issued an executive order requiring the Department of the Interior, which manages the National Park Service, “to ensure that all public monuments, memorials, statues, markers… do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
In June, signs began to appear in parks across the country asking visitors to report “any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans.” Experts are saying that this order could make it very difficult for parks to tell lesser-known stories about slavery, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, women’s rights, and more.
By visiting parks that tell American history in all its complexity, you’re not only strengthening your own understanding of the country’s past—you’re also sending a signal that the stories told in these parks matter.
