Reparations Will Go To The Descendants Of Enslaved People Sold To Build Georgetown University

The Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation will gift $27M to the families of enslaved descendants that helped fund Georgetown University. According to a CNN report, $10 million will come from Georgetown University and another $17 million will be donated from the Jesuits. The outlet points out that the land was sold by the Jesuits in 1838 and was previously connected to 272 enslaved persons by the Jesuits in 1838.

“These contributions from Georgetown University and the Jesuits are a clear indication of the role Jesuits and other institutions of higher education can play in supporting our mission to heal the wounds of racism in the United States, as well as a call to action for all of the Catholic Church to take meaningful steps to address the harm done through centuries of slaveholding,” Monique Trusclair Maddox, CEO of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation and chair of its board of directors, said in a news release.

It was also reported that the organization will made an earlier donation of $7million which is the estimation of how much a former plantation land previously owned by the province.

Georgetown President John J. DeGioia shares the historic move was inspired by the Jesuits’ organization’s “extraordinary vision to uplift Descendant communities, support the educational aspirations of Descendants, and promote racial healing in our nation.”

He added: “It is an honor for our University to have the opportunity to contribute to their efforts. The difficult truths of our past guide us in the urgent work of seeking and supporting reconciliation in our present and future,” DeGioia said.