Letters to the Editor | July 5, 2026

The events over the last several weeks — from the World Cup to the Fourth of July and America250 celebration to the forthcoming Major League Baseball All-Star Game — continue to show us the dedication of our first responders. Not only do Philadelphia’s police officers and firefighters (with a lot of help from outside agencies) continue to do their “day” jobs — patrolling their precincts and battling blazes — but they’ve done yeoman’s work at these community events. To them, I say, thank you.

Make no mistake — they are getting paid for it. Much of the pay is overtime pay — which (thankfully for us taxpayers) is covered by the event organizations — FIFA, MLB, or America250 and supplemental funding from the state. However, the overtime is part of the officers’ final pension calculation, and pensions are covered by me, the taxpayer — and not FIFA or anyone else. I’d love to see how much pensions have been inflated because of the overtime from these events.

Bryan Andersen, Philadelphia

As we learned in Donald Trump’s first term, there are facts and alternative facts. Now, we are blessed with alternative history. The biggest blemish in our nation’s history, slavery, is being turned into a footnote so that we do not “disparage Americans past or living.” George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and, in fact (if I can use the word “fact”), 12 of our presidents were enslavers. Since slavery was legal, I fail to see how this information disparages them. They were acting within the laws of their time, regardless of the morality of their actions. Germany has preserved Dachau and Buchenwald to show the world the horrors of their past and to learn from it. We have Trump’s whitewashed, sanitized version of American history, a Disney on Parade edition of our past. Why not just remove one of the f’s from Jefferson’s name while you’re at it? Facts are stubborn things, said John Adams, and part of Trump’s legacy will be his outlandish attempt to erase our history.

Jim Lynch, Collegeville

I visited the Second Bank of the United States on opening day. I was eager to see whether Moses Williams was removed from the Peale’s Museum exhibit.

Williams was born into slavery in the household of Charles Willson Peale, who painted the portrait of Thomas Jefferson. It was infuriating that slavery was erased from Jefferson’s history and sanitized in Williams’ story. Williams’ success is not “a testament to perseverance.” It is a testament to the paradox of slavery and liberty. Peale was a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He voted for the 1780 Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery.

Peale could have manumitted Williams at any time, but he was not freed until age 27, one year earlier than mandated under the 1780 act.

It should be noted that Williams did not use his earnings to purchase his wife’s freedom. He married Peale’s family cook, a white woman.

Faye M. Anderson, Philadelphia

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