December 18, 2025
Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice
Activists, historians and local leaders will gather in Center City on Sunday to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the President's House Site at Sixth and Market streets.
In 2002, Michael Coard, a criminal defense lawyer, learned that President George Washington enslaved nine people during his time in Philadelphia. It was a surprising fact, largely because he couldn't believe he had never heard it before.
"I really felt not just angry, but betrayed, because I was born and raised in Philly," Coard said. "I went to arguably the greatest school in America, Masterman, I went to the oldest (historically Black institution) in America, Cheyney University. I went to (one of the largest universities) for law school, Ohio State University. And never once heard about slavery in Philadelphia at America's first White House under George Washington. So I put the information out to the community."
After eight years of fighting, Coard and others opened the President's House Site at Sixth and Market streets, the site of Washington's former home, on Dec. 15, 2010. Activists, historians and elected officials will gather Sunday to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the display, which includes information on people enslaved by Washington and the fact that he moved them between Philadelphia and Mount Vernon to skirt a local law.
Coard estimates that at least 1 million people a year visit the President's House Site at Independence National Historical Park, which recently survived an effort from the Trump administration to alter or remove the monument. It was far from the first time Coard tussled with federal officials. When working to get the exhibit created, he said he argued with the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior under President George W. Bush.
"They agreed early on to tell the story of slavery. But their idea was, 'Hey, we're doing the George Washington memorial with a small slavery component,'" Coard said. "We said, 'No, we've got to do a large slave memorial with a small George Washington component.'"
Once the project was approved, Coard's organization, Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, worked with Kelly Maiello Architects to build the space, which is outdoors and includes motion-sensor monitors featuring reenactors speaking about the site's history. After breaking ground, Coard said many people came around to watch crews dig. After they found the foundation to the kitchen, Coard said leaders decided to cover it with glass and let people look down into the enclosure.
Over a decade later, Coard is still happy with the display, save for a few technical difficulties with the screens. He loves that it's open-air and accessible 24/7, and that other people growing up in the area will get the knowledge he never had as a child.
"This thing is here, so children 5, 10, 20 years from now won't have the gaps in history that I had from not knowing," Coard said. "... It's an open-air library to tell you everything you need to know about George Washington here in Philly, about slavery here in Philly."
The exhibit came under fire when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered a review of any federal display that "disparages Americans past or living" in May. The site wasn't specifically mentioned by name, but it was reportedly being considered for removal or alteration in September. However, following pushback from organizations such as ATAC and the public, it remains intact.
Coard said keeping the site in place is particularly important in 2026, when the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He wants people to know the truth as they explore the nation's history and its Founding Fathers. He doesn't want it to impede celebrations, but rather help people understand the full context of what went on in Philadelphia in 1776.
"It almost reminds me of a marital situation where you say you love your husband, you say you love your wife, but you can't love your spouse unless you know your spouse," Coard said. "The legacy of this site is simply to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Then once people know that, they can claim to be patriots and lovers of America, but if you don't know America, you can't love America."
