Trump attempts to get rid of history and rewrite the story of America through erasure. (Freepik)
Since Donald Trump was elected in 2024, his intention to erase LGBTQ and non-white history has been made copiously clear to the nation.
The most recent instance of this took place on August 20, 2025, when a rainbow crosswalk honoring the lives lost in a LGBTQ nightclub mass shooting was painted over by Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT).
This was a direct order from Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy. The directive was sent out to all 50 states and instructed them to keep roadway markings “free from distractions”.
Duffy wrote, “Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks. Political banners have no place on public roads. I’m reminding recipients of @USDOT roadway funding that it’s limited to features advancing safety, and nothing else. It’s that simple.”
The crosswalk had originally been painted by the state in 2017 and had always adhered to street safety standards. That was until early 2025, when new guidelines for roadways were installed that prohibited street art. More specifically, any social, ideological, or political street art was banned entirely, as well as a new policy allowing FDOT to withhold funds from local governments that didn’t obey these guidelines.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer commented on FDOT’s actions. “This crosswalk not only enhanced safety and visibility for the large number of pedestrians visiting the memorial, it also served as a visual reminder of Orlando’s commitment to honor the 49 lives taken.”
Many Orlando citizens felt indignant about the issue, and on September 2, they began to protest by coloring back in the crosswalk with chalk; however, at least four were arrested and detained without pending charges.
Trump has also made an executive order that targets museums like the Smithsonian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, claiming their contents are too “divisive.” He claims these museums cast the founding principles of the United States in a “negative light” and contain “improper ideology”.
This executive order has already led to the resignation of museum director Kevin Young of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, along with significant staff and funding cuts.
It has been reported that the United States National Park Service has been removing information from exhibits about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad; however, due to public uproar, the revisions have been reversed.
These actions reflect Trump’s first term, during which he established the 1776 Commission, a project aimed at promoting a “patriotic education.”
This commission explicitly attacked the novel The 1619 Project, a publication expounding the long-lasting effects of racial slavery in the United States.
Trump didn’t have the power to eradicate the publication completely, but his administration did all that it could to diminish the book’s influence by making threats to cut funding from schools that used the book in their curriculum. He stated, “The 1619 Project and the crusade against American history is toxic propaganda, ideological poison, that, if not removed, will dissolve the civic bonds that tie us together, will destroy our country”. He wanted to show a celebratory version of the U.S that downplayed slavery and racism.
Many believe the history surrounding non-white chronicles will continue to dwindle.