Summary

The National Park Service removed Harriet Tubman’s image and quote from its “Underground Railroad” webpage, along with references to slavery and the Fugitive Slave Act.

The revision now emphasizes “American ideals of liberty” and downplays historical realities.

Historians and scholars condemned the move as a distortion of history and erasure of Tubman’s legacy.

The change aligns with broader Trump administration efforts to eliminate DEI content across federal sites, which critics say suppresses discussions of race, identity, and historical truth.

    • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      7 hours ago

      One of my more fun conspiracies is that we have been going through this cycle for eons. There’s no previous record of this beyond myths of giants and angels because eventually society gets so advanced permeant records of its existence cease. Everything is digital. It can be erased with the bat of an eye. This is why all we can find is carvings from the beginning of our iteration with memories from people as to what existed before the crash and then it gets lost. We look at it as myths but maybe they weren’t. Maybe they were more advanced than us and pushed back to the stone age.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    7 hours ago

    Disgraceful.

    Had the campaign to put Tubman on the $20 succeeded, they’d be removing her from it.

  • Infynis@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    90
    ·
    1 day ago

    This, and all the other sites they’ve taken down, are meant to be freely accessible to everyone. This is what your taxes actually pay for. The government runs a massive research operation, and library, for everyone. This is a book burning.

  • The Quuuuuill@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    166
    ·
    1 day ago

    what the fuck are they going to ultimately say the underground railroad was? What will they say it was helping who escape? THIS WHOLE THING IS STUPID!

  • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    ·
    1 day ago

    “Yeah, about your pamphlet…I’m not seeing anything about German history between 1939 and 1945.”

    “Everyone was on vacation.”

    “What are you talking about, Germany invaded Poland in 1939.”

    “We were invited! Punch was served. Check with Poland!”

    “You can’t just ignore those years! Thomas Mann fled to America because of Nazism’s stranglehold on Germany!”

    “Nope…He left to manage a Dairy Queen!”

    “A Dairy Queen? That’s preposterous!”

    “I will hear NO MORE insinuations about the German people. NOTHING BAD HAPPENED!”

  • taiyang@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    28
    ·
    1 day ago

    Oh, ok, so now Civilization VII is more historically accurate than the National Park Service. That’s… ugh

  • Nougat@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    70
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    “Eliminate DEI content” actually means “government-sponsored open bigotry”.

      • BlemboTheThird@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        1 day ago

        If by “this,” you mean the reference towards Tubman, then you’re wrong. Talking about the accomplishments of anyone who isn’t a straight white Christian man IS promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion! DEI is a good thing! Opposing it is explicitly racist!

        • Dasus@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          1 day ago

          It’s genuinely challenging trying to perceive what level of sarcasm you’re on, as a non-American and not hearing the tone of your voice.

          edit my bad I read that poorly, brain fart

          • BlemboTheThird@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            7
            ·
            1 day ago

            Literally none. DEI straight up means treating everyone the same. They’re working on giving it some fucked up negative connotations the same way they have with “woke” and “critical race theory,” but if you look at the history and reality of where those words come from and what they mean, it becomes clear they’re playing with language, trying to avoid looking racist to the general public while still implementing racist policy.

            • Dasus@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 day ago

              Yeah sorry I read that as a negative on some level.

              Like my brain made an “isn’t” an “is” or skipped a “not”.

              That’s why I asked. Thought someone was being like “but won’t someone please think of the straight white men” and then I thought well obviously that must be sarcasm but then the general tone didn’t seem as sarcastic…

              The large bowl of weed I smoked and listening to 8 out of 10 cats while browsing may have contribute to me making that mistake.

              My bad.

              Here, let me contribute by actually promoting content relating to history and especially history of black women in the US.

              The Six Triple Eight

              I loved that movie. I don’t know why but empowerment of minorities and the vindication that they get in movies like that gets me really emotional, especially after a few rums.