June 11, 2025
The National Parks Service has been directed to post QR codes that allow visitors to report history that negatively frame American history.
The National Park Service will post signs encouraging visitors to report “disparaging” representations of American History.
On June 9, NPR reported on a leaked memo written by National Park Service comptroller Jessica Bowron, who directs the National Park Service to post signage, including QR codes, that urge observers to challenge historical facts. The signs must be posted by June 13. The National Park Service has aspired to preserve American geography and tell the stories of the past. Yet, the Trump administration wants control over the narrative.
The leaked memo specifies targeting information that “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living and instead focuses on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”
It is a bold attempt to erase America’s troubled past. America was built on democratic ideals as well as the oppression of multiple minorities, including indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans. Not to speak of these harms removes a crucial and foundational element of the American story.
Executive Erasure
The impetus for this move comes as the result of an executive order by the Trump administration (“Restoring Truth And Sanity To American History”) that targets multiple government institutions that do not water down history.
The executive orders the presentation of history as “ideology rather than truth.” Multiple institutions dedicated to giving a whole and complete depiction of history are targeted in the document.
A Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibit, “The Shape of Power,” is used as an example to further the administration’s agenda.
“The exhibit further claims that ‘sculpture has been a powerful tool in promoting scientific racism’ and promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct, stating, ‘Race is a human invention.’”
The order sets the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum in its sights while taking a dig at transgender people.
“National Museum of African American History and Culture has proclaimed that ‘hard work,’ ‘individualism,’ and ‘the nuclear family’ are aspects of ‘White culture.’ The forthcoming Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women’s sports,” the order states.
RELATED CONTENT: NAACP Fights Back Against Trump’s DOE Executive Order With Lawsuit
