During a hearing of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week, Senator Angus King (I-ME), co-chair of the National Parks Subcommittee, presented his concerns over the rewriting and whitewashing of history within the National Park Service by the Trump Administration. The remarks come after months of attempts by the administration to remove signage and information from national parks that “disparage” Americans, as well as the recent removal of Martin Luther King, Jr Day and Juneteenth from free entry days.
King has been a vocal supporter of national parks. He helped pass the Great American Outdoors Act and received the National Park Foundation (NPF) “Hero” Award in 2020 for his efforts.
During his opening remarks, King noted that while it is important to celebrate the triumphs of America, it is just as crucial to recognize — and learn from — our mistakes as a nation.
“Our history is a country of 250 years. We have had triumphs. We have had great, prideful moments. We have had accomplishments, heroism, a lot to be proud of, relish, and learn about,” said King. “But we also have some dark parts of our history. Like any history. We are not too excited about those, but they have to be addressed. Slavery, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, segregation, the treatment of Native Americans in our history. Those are things we can't avoid –we can't forget — and we don't want to forget.”
King told the story of meeting a young man at an airport in Germany, who explained to him that he was required to visit a concentration camp in high school in order to learn about the dark parts of his country’s past.
“We are doing just the opposite,” said King. “We are telling people and young people who go to our parks, ‘We don't want to bother you about slavery. It was uncomfortable. It might make you feel uncomfortable.’ We need to learn from our history, so that we learn from it and we don't repeat it.”
King also warned that the tactic of removing information related to negative events in a country’s history is one used by authoritarian governments.
Speaking of the removal of signs related to slavery and Japanese internment, King said, “This does not contribute to our citizens' understanding of their history and appreciation of their history. It doesn't change the history. It doesn't change what happened. It only changes our citizens' understanding of those things. This is what happens under authoritarian governments.”
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