December 13, 2025
The national park service receives memo to purge gift shop items that promote diversity.
The Trump administration has ordered U.S. national park gift shops and bookstores to remove merchandise that it says promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
A memo issued last month by the Department of the Interior requires parks to review and purge merchandise from gift shops, bookstores and concession stands by Dec. 19. If the “public-facing content” does align with what officials describe as “neutral spaces that serve all visitors, they will be purged. The internal memorandum sent to all Regional Directors, Associate and Assistant Directors of the National Park Service.
The guidance does not include specific examples of prohibited items, leaving park employees uncertain about what products might be banned. All retail items, including books, shirts, magnets, keychains, patches, and pens must now be reviewed for adherence to the new rules. The memorandum frames the presence of the undefined DEI items in contrast to Trump’s “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Program and Preferencing” executive order.
At some parks that have already conducted reviews, items featuring historical figures remain on display for now. At Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, merchandise featuring abolitionist Frederick Douglass is still for sale, and at Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, books detailing the U.S. civil rights movement remain available, the Associated Press reported.
Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, told the AP, removing books and other historical material from park stores would amount to “silencing science and hiding history.”
The directive is part of a broader effort by the administration to eliminate policies and programs it says discriminate based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. Earlier in the year, the Administration mandated that national parks remove any paraphernalia that casts American History in a “bad light”. Unfortunately, America’s history is indeed complex, and honoring those who survived the brutality of the nation appears to be against the new policy. Referencing slavery or native Americans is no longer allowed on national park grounds. Additionally, attendees are encouraged to call a tip line and report any perceived negative references to America’s past.
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