WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The National Archives said Saturday it made a mistake when it blurred images of anti-Trump signs used in an exhibit on women’s suffrage.
The
independent agency is charged with preserving government and historical
records and said it has always been committed to preserving its
holdings “without alteration.”
But the archives said in a statement Saturday “we made a mistake.” The archives’ statement came one day after The Washington Post published an online report about the altered images.
The
archives said the photo in question is not one of its archival records,
but rather was licensed for use as a promotional graphic in the
exhibit.
“Nonetheless, we were wrong to alter the image,” the agency said.
The
current display has been removed and will be replaced as soon as
possible with one that uses the original, unaltered image, the archives
said.
The
exhibit about the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote,
blurred some anti-Trump messages on protest signs in a photo of the 2017
Women’s March in Washington.
Signs
that referred to women’s private parts, which also were widespread
during the march, which was held shortly after Trump took office, also
were altered.
The
archives said it will immediately begin a “thorough review” of its
policies and procedures for exhibits “so that this does not happen
again.”
T he American Civil Liberties Union called on the archives to issue a more detailed, explanation.
“Apologizing
is not enough,” Louise Melling, the organization’s deputy legal
director, said in a statement. “The National Archives must explain to
the public why it took the Orwellian step of trying to rewrite history
and erasing women’s bodies from it, as well as who ordered it.”
Archives
spokeswoman Miriam Kleiman told the Post for its report that the
nonpartisan, nonpolitical federal agency blurred the anti-Trump
references “so as not to engage in current political controversy.”
References
to female anatomy in the signs were obscured in deference to student
groups and young people who visit the archives, Kleiman told the
newspaper.
Kleiman
did not respond to an emailed request for comment Saturday from The
Associated Press. The public affairs office at the archives emailed the
statement.
The
archives issued the apology as thousands again gathered in Washington
and in cities across the country Saturday for Women’s March rallies
focused on issues such as climate change, pay equity and reproductive
rights.
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