NPS Reverses Tubman Edits: DEI Policy Controversy 2025

By Darius Spearman (africanelements)

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NPS Reverses Unauthorized Harriet Tubman Website Edits

Recently, the National Park Service (NPS) faced a public storm over changes made to its Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad webpage. These weren’t minor tweaks. The edits involved removing Harriet Tubman’s image and changing how her story and the struggle against slavery were told (Politico). Specifically, language shifted from emphasizing resistance against enslavement to describing the Underground Railroad merely as an expression of a “civil rights movement.” This change downplays the brutal reality of slavery and the life-or-death risks Tubman faced.

Crucially, these alterations happened without approval from NPS or Department leadership. They weren’t official policy changes but unauthorized actions. The backlash was swift and strong once the public learned about the edits (Politico; YouTube). Consequently, the NPS quickly moved to restore the original content, restoring Tubman’s image and reverting the language to accurately reflect her fight for freedom. The incident, however, raised serious questions about how our history is being presented on official government platforms.

Whitewashing History? NPS Underground Railroad Changes Spark Outcry

The attempt to reframe Harriet Tubman’s work on the Underground Railroad as a “civil rights movement” expression rather than a direct fight against the horrors of chattel slavery didn’t sit well with many. For Black communities, Tubman is a towering figure of resistance, courage, and liberation theology. Softening the language feels like an attempt to make a brutal past more palatable, thereby erasing the specific context of her struggle. Civil rights leader Bernice King powerfully condemned the changes, stating they amounted to “erasing history” and showed a refusal “to be uncomfortable” with the truth about slavery (Politico).

Despite the unauthorized nature of the edits, the controversy forced the NPS to reaffirm its stance publicly. The agency defended its overall commitment to presenting “complex historical narratives” and emphasized Tubman’s central role in its programming (Politico). Indeed, the NPS maintains dedicated resources, including the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, to honor her legacy (NPS.gov). Nevertheless, the incident highlighted a vulnerability in how historical narratives, especially those concerning Black history, can be altered within government institutions.

Trump DEI Policies History: Erasing Black Contributions?

This Harriet Tubman webpage issue doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It aligns with broader efforts under the Trump administration targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the federal government. DEI policies aim to promote fairness and representation for groups historically shut out of opportunities. However, the Trump administration has aggressively worked to dismantle these programs, framing them as “illegal and immoral discrimination” and “woke cultural Marxism” (Economic Times). This perspective views DEI not as a tool for equality but as a divisive “improper ideology.”

The administration issued executive orders demanding that federal agencies purge DEI-related content. This directive hit the Pentagon particularly hard, marking over 26,000 military images and articles for deletion (Techdirt; Blind Magazine). Much of this content highlighted minority milestones and women’s achievements in the armed forces. Consequently, the anti-DEI push effectively became a campaign to scrub mentions of diversity from official government records and websites, impacting how the contributions of Black people and other minorities are remembered.

Beyond Tubman: The Wider Impact of Content Removals

The impact of the anti-DEI directives extended far beyond intentional targets. The methods used, often involving broad keyword searches, led to accidental deletions of significant historical content. For instance, the Pentagon’s purge mistakenly removed references to the Enola Gay aircraft (because the pilot’s last name was misread) and, more troublingly, information about the Tuskegee Airmen and the Navajo Code Talkers (Blind Magazine; Economic Times). The term “diversity” itself likely flagged content about these diverse groups, even though their historical importance is unrelated to modern DEI policies.

Similarly, Arlington National Cemetery, operating under the Department of the Interior, removed educational pages specifically dedicated to Black, Hispanic, and women veterans (NBC Washington). While the information might have been relocated to broader categories like “Prominent Military Figures,” this move obscures these specific groups’ unique experiences and contributions. Furthermore, references to Jackie Robinson’s military service were also deleted, then later reinstated, showing the purge’s overreach (Economic Times). These actions demonstrate a pattern where efforts to remove “DEI” result in the erasure of Black and minority history.

Public Backlash and the Fight to Preserve History

These removals, whether targeting Harriet Tubman, Navajo Code Talkers, or Black veterans, did not go unnoticed. Public outcry followed many of these discoveries. This pressure often led to partial restorations, such as reinstating web pages about the Navajo Code Talkers and Jackie Robinson (Economic Times; PBS NewsHour). The reversal of the Harriet Tubman page edits is another example of public pressure forcing a correction. Nonetheless, the need for such public vigilance is concerning.

Academics and advocates also voiced strong opposition. Historian Kevin M. Levin described the Arlington National Cemetery changes as a “slap in the face” to the communities whose specific histories were being erased (NBC Washington). The motivation behind these edits appears to be a systemic political policy driven by executive orders, not isolated errors (Techdirt; Economic Times). Additionally, a lack of resources and clear guidance hampered oversight. For example, a single Marine Corps civilian was reportedly tasked with reviewing over 10,000 items, an impossible task that inevitably led to errors and unchecked deletions (Techdirt). Ultimately, the fight ensures that all Americans’ histories, particularly those from marginalized communities, are preserved and told accurately.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darius Spearman has been a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College since 2007. He is the author of several books, including Between The Color Lines: A History of African Americans on the California Frontier Through 1890. You can visit Darius online at africanelements.org.