Tour guide Stephen Pierce surveys posted signs on the locations of the now removed explanatory panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President’s House site in Philadelphia, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)(RNS) — One of the removed panels featured images of Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. Independence National Historical Park, which hosted the exhibit, was cited in a March 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump. They left the congregation and Allen soon founded what became known as ‘Mother Bethel,’ the first African Methodist Episcopal church in the United States. The same year, Jones helped found the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas and served as its pastor.