September 17, 2025
The Scourged Again exhibits enslaved man, Peter Gordon’s, scarred pores and skin after an untold variety of lashings.
The Trump administration is rumored to have ordered the elimination of a Civil Battle artifact that shows in depth scarring on an enslaved man from the Nationwide Gallery of Artwork. The picture titled The Scourged Again has been extensively circulated since its manufacturing in 1983. It’s one in all many artifacts, associated to slavery, that the Trump administration is making an attempt to erase.
White Home spokesman Davis Ingle denied the allegations in assertion to Individuals.
“That is faux information. No choices have been made on this exhibit – it’s below evaluation to make sure compliance with the Govt Order,” Ingles mentioned.
Nonetheless, the Washington Publish cites 4 particular person sources that affirm the picture has been ordered eliminated.
That is simply one of many many acts undertaken by the federal government to purge nationwide parks of “corrosive ideology.” Underneath the chief order “Restoring Fact and Sanity To American Historical past,” the administration desires to rid the nation of “indicators referring to racial discrimination and the hostility of White folks.”
The Scourged Again exhibits an enslaved man, Peter Gordon’s, scarred pores and skin after an untold variety of lashings. The picture was taken to emphasise the horrors inflicted upon enslaved folks. Historians say it was extensively distributed throughout the Civil Battle and helped garner empathy and consciousness of the struggling enslaved People endured.
The chief order grants the Inside Division broad authority to take away interpretive signage, academic shows, and present store gadgets deemed to current an incomplete or inaccurate portrayal of American historical past. There’s a particular curiosity in minimizing displays that paint a full image of racism, slavery, or systemic oppression. In a number of nationwide parks, together with Harpers Ferry Historic Park and the President’s Home Website in Philadelphia, employees have recognized greater than 30 indicators and displays for evaluation or potential elimination, in accordance with The Washington Publish.
Park Service spokesperson Rachel Pawlitz issued an announcement concerning the evaluation of artifacts which will fall below Trump’s govt order.
“Interpretive supplies that disproportionately emphasize detrimental facets of U.S. historical past or historic figures, with out acknowledging broader context or nationwide progress, can unintentionally distort understanding fairly than enrich it.”
The Scourged Again is a putting picture that reveals the violent nature of America’s previous, telling a story of horrors from a pivotal level within the nation’s historical past. Horrors that many concern, if not acknowledged, could also be repeated.
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