NEWS: Georgetown U. and Jesuits Commit Initial $27 Million to Reparations Fund

The Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation (DTRF)[1] has recently announced commitments from Georgetown University of $10 million and from the Jesuits of $17 million in reparation for wrongs committed when slavery was legal in the United States, specifically, the 1838 sale by the Jesuits of 272 enslaved persons. The Foundation is a “first-of-its-kind initiative” involving both descendants of the enslaved, and descendants of the enslavers. According to the press release:

The contributions announced today will add to the capitalization of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Trust, bringing the Trust total to $42 million. Earnings from the Trust will support programming in the Foundation's three core focus areas: supporting the educational aspirations of Descendants from early childhood education through post-secondary education; investing in truth, racial healing and reconciliation in communities and organizations throughout America; and supporting elderly and infirm Descendants.[2]

Much of the reporting around this financial commitment is inaccurately referring to the transfer as a “gift.”[3] Such language perpetuates the idea that reparations are not owed, required, or a bare-minimum ethical standard, but are somehow a charitable benevolence. Especially in a religious context, reparations are penitential, designed to make restitution for and repair previous or  ongoing wrongs. Reparations are not a gift, and the language used affects whether the action actually repairs the wrongs committed. According to Monique Trusclair Maddox, the CEO of DTRF, 

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.

The announced financial commitments are only an initial portion of the stated intention of Georgetown and the Jesuits, which is ultimately to fund the foundation at an amount of one billion dollars.

 

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.

Reparations Commission Research Historian

Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey

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[1] https://www.descendants.org

[2] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-descendants-truth--reconciliation-foundation-announces-27-million-in-new-contributions-10-million-from-georgetown-university-and-17-million-of-the-estimated-value-of-jesuit-owned-plantation-land-301925822.html

[3] E.g. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12514479/Georgetown-University-Jesuits-gift-27million-charity-descendants-enslaved-people-sold-pay-debt-school-19th-century.html