Photo: RHONA WISE / AFP / Getty Images
The Trump administration has removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the National Parks system’s fee-free calendar for 2026, eliminating the only free-entry dates tied to Black civil rights and freedom.
The Department of the Interior’s new list, labeled “resident-only patriotic fee-free days,” replaces those holidays with dates honoring more presidents, including Flag Day, which falls on President Donald Trump’s birthday. MLK Day has been a fee-free day since 2018; Juneteenth was added in 2024.
The changes come months after the administration paused federal recognition of remembrance days connected to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Advocates say the move undermines public access and erases meaningful history.
Kristen Brengel of the National Parks Conservation Association told Newsweek that removing the holiday “recognizes an American hero” and noted MLK Day is widely used for community service in parks. She added, “For some reason, Black history has repeatedly been targeted by this administration, and it shouldn’t be.”
Lawmakers also condemned the shift. In a post on X, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) wrote that the administration “removed both of these holidays that mark Black Americans’ struggle for civil rights and freedom.” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) also took to social media to express his discontent with the move, writing in an X post that making Trump’s birthday free but excluding MLK Day and Juneteenth is “foul” and shows national parks should “not cater to Trump’s ego.”
Historians warn that the decision sends a deeper message about who these institutions are for. Dr. Emily Blanck of Rowan University told Newsweek the policy signals a definition of “American” that “aligns with white Americans.”
The Interior Department defended the changes as part of an effort to make parks “more affordable” for U.S. taxpayers.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement, “President Trump’s leadership always puts American families first.” BIN has requested additional comment from the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and The King Center.
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