As a Georgetown employee, Jeremy Alexander watched as the university grappled with its haunted past: the sale of slaves in 1838 to help rescue it from financial ruin. Georgetown University announces reparations fund to benefit descendants Other Jesuits voiced their anger to the Archbishop of Baltimore, Samuel Eccleston, who conveyed this to Roothaan. The hope was to eventually identify the slaves descendants. Unknown because that portion of history is so like anything that reflects on the horrors of slavery preempted from our history. [37] As censure for the scandal,[39] Roothaan ordered Mulledy to remain in Europe,[35] and Mulledy lived in exile in Nice until 1843. Families would not be separated. Participants in this discussion are: Drew Gilpin Faust, President, Harvard University. But when Ms. Riffel, the genealogist, told her where she thought he was buried, Ms. Crump knew exactly where to go. The church records helped lead to a 69-year-old woman in Baton Rouge named Maxine Crump. Our membership program offers special benefits to college students including: * Unlimited FREE Two-Day Shipping (with no minimum order size), * Exclusive deals and promotions for college students, Georgetown University confronts its history with slavery. The sale of these 272 slaves, known as the GU272, saved the university from foreclosure. In addition to becoming physically dilapidated, all but one of the plantations had fallen into debt. Within two weeks, Mr. Cellini had set up a nonprofit, the Georgetown Memory Project, hired eight genealogists and raised more than $10,000 from fellow alumni to finance their research. [56] An undergraduate student also brought this to public attention in several articles published by the school newspaper, The Hoya between 2014 and 2015, about the university's relationship with slavery and the slave sale. When the Society of Jesus was suppressed worldwide by Pope Clement XIV in 1773, ownership of the plantations was transferred from the Jesuits' Maryland Mission to the newly established Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen. [12], One of the Maryland Jesuits' institutions, Georgetown College (later known as Georgetown University), also rented slaves. This coincided with a protest by a group of students against keeping Mulledy's and McSherry's names on the buildings the day before. Alfred "Teen" Blackburn (1842-1951), one of the last living survivors of slavery in the United States who had a clear recollection of it. Required fields are marked *. Georgetown University (Daniel Slim/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images) Article A genealogical organization launched a free website Wednesday to help those who want to learn more about the. [40] The remaining $17,000, equivalent to approximately $440,000 in 2021,[25] was used to offset part of Georgetown College's $30,000 of debt that had accrued during the construction of buildings during Mulledy's prior presidency of the college. In November, the university agreed to remove the names of the Rev. [51] Other historians covered the subject in literature published between the 1980s and 2000s. As a result, he had to sell his property in the 1840s and renegotiate the terms of his payment. Leaders in policy, business, technology, science, history, arts and culture engaged with top journalists on the most consequential issues of our time. We receive a small royalty without cost to you. Copyright 2023 America Press Inc. | All Rights Reserved. One building was renamed for Isaac Hawkins, first on the list of the 272 human beings sold in 1838. They were looked on not as humans but as collateral and sold to secure the future of this great Catholic institution that hold such a place of honor to this day. Enslaved, marginalized and forced into illiteracy by laws that prohibited them from learning to read and write, many seem like ghosts who pass through this world without leaving a trace. The next year, Pope Gregory XVI explicitly barred Catholics from engaging in this traffic in Blacks no matter what pretext or excuse.. [33], Almost immediately, the sale, which was one of the largest slave sales in the history of the United States,[28] became a scandal among American Catholics. [24] When he returned in November to gather the rest of the slaves, the plantation managers had their slaves flee and hide. William McSherry, the college presidents involved in the sale, from two campus buildings. Georgetown and the Society of Jesus Maryland Province have issued an apology for their role in this action to more than 100 descendants who had been traced at the time of the apology. In fact, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, University of Virginia did as well. On June 19, 1838, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus agreed to sell 272 slaves to two southern Louisiana sugar planters, former governor Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey, for $115,000, equivalent to $2.79 million in 2020, in order to rescue Georgetown University from bankruptcy. On Juneteenth, the debate comes to Congress. Photo by Claire Vail. [5] In October of that year, Mulledy succeeded McSherry, who was dying, as provincial superior. She prides herself on being unflappable. [27] Johnson allowed these slaves to remain in Maryland because he intended to return and try to buy their spouses as well. 1838 Jesuit slave sale - Wikipedia Corneliuss extended family was split, with his aunt Nelly and her daughters shipped to one plantation, and his uncle James and his wife and children sent to another, records show. Cardinal McElroy on radical inclusion for L.G.B.T. These are real people with real names and real descendants.. June 1838 the University benefited from the sale of 272 slaves, some as young as 2 months old to finance the ailing institution. The enslaved African-Americans had belonged to the nations most prominent Jesuit priests. We also posted a 5 part mini-series on the 100th anniversary of one of the most horrific massacres in the history of America. Now they are real to me, she said, more real every day.. In 1870, he appeared in the census for the first time. What has emerged from their research, and that of other scholars, is a glimpse of an insular world dominated by priests who required their slaves to attend Mass for the sake of their salvation, but also whipped and sold some of them. Books and Textbooks One of the greatest ways to advance your life choices and future. This has made people reluctant to see the past and this has had a long term harm by remaining hidden and allowed to fester. The university created the liturgy in partnership with members of the descendant community, the Archdiocese of Washington and the Society of Jesus in the United States. History of enslaved sold for Georgetown University detailed in new [65], On April 18, 2017, DeGioia, along with the provincial superior of the Maryland Province, and the president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, held a liturgy in which they formally apologized on behalf of their respective institutions for their participation in slavery. Modern Countries That Still Have Slavery | The Borgen Project The worn gravestone had toppled, but the wording was plain: Neely Hawkins Died April 16, 1902.. Behind her are sugar plantations and the sugar mill where her ancestors worked. The students organized a protest and a sit-in, using the hashtag #GU272 for the slaves who were sold. Georgetown University in Washington, seen from across the Potomac River. And they were sold, along with scores of others, to help secure the future of the premier Catholic institution of higher learning at the time, known today as Georgetown University. this helps us promote a safe and accountable online community, and allows us to update you when other commenters reply to your posts. [18] The province was sharply divided, with the American-born Jesuits supporting a sale and the missionary European Jesuits opposing on the basis that it was immoral both to sell their patrimonial lands and to materially and morally harm the slaves by selling them into the Deep South, where they did not want to go. Now comes the task of making amends. In letters written to Jesuit superiors in Maryland, one priest who accidentally crossed paths with the slaves in Louisiana after the sale bemoaned the fact that the slaves couldnt practice Catholicism.. Now shes working for justice. Georgetown University confronts its history with slavery Your email address will not be published. [9] The main crops grown were tobacco and corn. [30] In total, only 206 are known to have been transported to Louisiana. [3], Much of this land was put to use as plantations, the revenue from which financed the Jesuits' ministries. people, women and others in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Cupich: Critics of Pope Francis Latin Mass restrictions should listen to JPII. Inspiring Stories of Black History and Achievement, 272 Slaves Sold to Finance Georgetown University. He demanded that Mulledy travel to Rome to answer the charges of disobeying orders and promoting scandal. On June 19, 1838, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus agreed to sell 272 slaves to two Louisiana planters, Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey, for $115,000 (equivalent to approximately $2.96 million in 2021). The second is now named for a free African-American woman who founded a school for Catholic black girls in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Since 2015, Georgetown has been working to address its historical relationship to slavery and will continue to do so, a Georgetown spokesman said in a statement to Religion News Service on Friday. But priests at the Jesuit plantations recounted the panic and fear they witnessed when the slaves departed. An alumnus, following the protest from afar, wondered if more needed to be done. But few were lucky enough to escape. The slaves were also identified as collateral in the event that Johnson, Batey, and their guarantors defaulted on their payments. As Black Americans as descendants of enslaved people we have always been told youll never know who you are. But the 1838 slave sale organized by the Jesuits, who founded and ran Georgetown, stands out for its sheer size, historians say. It will challenge and change your understanding of what we were as Americans and of what we are. Chicago Tribune In this groundbreaking historical expos, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history an Age of Neo slavery that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more. In addition to the summary above, it is our intent to provide you with a more detailed look at the matter by providing videos and books that allow a deeper view. Now that we have this data, my hope is that we can use it to open doors and make connections. His children and grandchildren also embraced the Catholic church. The Jesuits had sold off individual slaves before. [32] An unknown number of slaves may also have run away and escaped transportation. So Judy Riffel, one of the genealogists hired by Mr. Cellini, began following a chain of weddings and births, baptisms and burials. A problem can is not solved without first recognizing it, discussing it and taking steps to rectify the long term damage that continues to this day. Georgetown University, GU272 Slaves - WikiTree Only 206 of the 272 slaves were actually delivered because the Jesuits permitted the elderly and those with spouses living nearby and not owned by Jesuits to remain in Maryland. In total, there are 167 countries that still have slavery and around 46 million slaves today, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index.. Cardinal McElroy responds to his critics on sexual sin, the Eucharist, and LGBT and divorced/remarried Catholics, Worried you retired too early? If youre already a subscriber or donor, thank you! Revealed: The Slave Sold to Save Georgetown In all, the Jesuits sold 314 men, women and children over a 5-year period stretching from 1838 to 1843. [24], Mulledy quickly made arrangements to carry out the sale. The researchers have used archival records to follow their footsteps, from the Jesuit plantations in Maryland, to the docks of New Orleans, to three plantations west and south of Baton Rouge, La. But the decision to sell virtually all of their enslaved African-Americans in the 1830s left some priests deeply troubled. (RNS) A genealogical association has launched a new website detailing the family histories of slaves who were sold to keep Catholic-run Georgetown University from bankruptcy in the 1800s. What remains is what is owed to the descendants. The Rev. Leave a message for others who see this profile. History of slaves sold for Georgetown detailed in new genealogical What Does It Owe Their Descendants? Interview: Whats it like to photograph Pope Francis? [8] In reality, by the early 19th century, the Jesuit plantations were in such a state of mismanagement that the Jesuit Superior General in Rome, Tadeusz Brzozowski, sent Irish Jesuit Peter Kenney to review the operations of the Maryland Mission as a canonical visitor in 1820. These posts focus on the reality of Black life in America after the Civil War culminating in the landmark Brown v Board of Education that changed so many of the earlier practices. You can either click on the link in your confirmation email or simply re-enter your email address below to confirm it. While it would seem as if there would be some mention of this in history, it remained largely unknown. The name had been passed down from generation to generation in her family. [24] He located two Louisiana planters who were willing to purchase the slaves: Henry Johnson, a former United States Senator and governor of Louisiana, and Jesse Batey. More than a dozen universities including Brown, Columbia, Harvard and the University of Virginia have publicly recognized their ties to slavery and the slave trade. And the money raised by the sale would not be used to pay off debt or for operating expenses. At the time, the Catholic Church did not view slaveholding as immoral, said the Rev. Moreover, men and women held in bondage were also part of the day-to-day operation of Georgetown College in its early decades. Focus Areas - Georgetown University [46] Due to financial difficulties, Johnson sold half his property, including some of the slaves he had purchased in 1838, to Philip Barton Key in 1844. Thomas F. Mulledy and the Rev. In 1844, Henry Johnson sold a share of Chatham and would eventually sell the remainder of his land and enslaved people to John R. Thompson in 1851. In 1838, the Jesuit priests who ran the countrys top Catholic university needed money to keep it alive. What can you do to make amends?. She found out about the Jesuits and Georgetown and the sea voyage to Louisiana. [67] The university also gave permanent names to the two buildings. They were heading to the only Catholic cemetery in Maringouin. The college relied on Jesuit plantations in Maryland to help finance its operations, university officials say. Tweet. Hundreds of Blacks were slaughtered and 10,000 left homeless in this largely unknown event. In 1836, the Jesuit Superior General, Jan Roothaan, authorized the provincial superior to carry out the sale on three conditions: the slaves must be permitted to practice their Catholic faith, their families must not be separated, and the proceeds of the sale must be used only to support Jesuits in training. [47], While the 1838 slave sale gave rise to scandal at the time, the event eventually faded out of the public awareness. Her great-uncle had the name, as did one of her cousins. Eventually, Roothaan removed Thomas Mulledy as provincial superior for disobeying orders and promoting scandal, exiling him to Nice for several years. Despite coverage of the Maryland Jesuits' slave ownership and the 1838 sale in academic literature, news of these facts came as a surprise to the public in 2015, prompting a study of Georgetown University's and Jesuits' historical relationship with slavery. Why am I being asked to create an account? Today, these enslaved people are known collectively as the GU272 Ancestors. Genealogists have identified many of the original people who were sold, along with over 9000 of their descendants. Share with your friends! [19] At the congregation, the senior Jesuits in Maryland voted six to four to proceed with a sale of the slaves,[20] and Dubuisson submitted to the Superior General a summary of the moral and financial arguments on either side of the debate. One-hundred-seventy-eight years ago, Georgetown University was free to everyone who was able to attend; it was also massively in debt. Georgetown University Slave History & Reconciliation Project - Descendants We shop for the best values for you. . Through the project, genealogists have discovered 8,425 descendants of enslaved people sold in 1838. Another building has been renamed Anne Marie Becraft Hall in honor of a free Black woman who established a school in the town of Georgetown for Girls of color. And the 1838 sale worth about $3.3 million in todays dollars was organized by two of Georgetowns early presidents, both Jesuit priests. Slavery was much more than the theft of labor; it was the deprivation of liberty for which this country professes so loudly. But he said he could not stop thinking about the slaves, whose names had been in Georgetowns archives for decades. In 1851, Thompson purchased the second half of Johnson's property, so that by the beginning of the Civil War, all the slaves sold by Mulledy to Johnson were owned by Thompson. Anyone can read what you share. A photo of the slave cabins at Laurel Valley in Thibodaux is part of the GU272 Memory Project. (RNS) A genealogical association has launched a new website detailing the family histories of slaves who were sold to keep Catholic-run Georgetown University from bankruptcy in the 1800s. Although the working group was established in August, it was student demonstrations at Georgetown in the fall that helped to galvanize alumni and gave new urgency to the administrations efforts. [53], With work complete, in August 2015, university president John DeGioia sent an open letter to the university announcing the opening of the new student residence, which also related Mulledy's role in the 1838 slave sale after stepping down as president of the university. THEY NEED TO BE FOUND AND LINKED. Login to post. After the sale, Cornelius vanishes from the public record until 1851 when his trail finally picks back up on a cotton plantation near Maringouin, La. It also features audio recordings in which descendants recall memories, from segregated education to family migration away from the South. By the end of December, one of Mr. Cellinis genealogists felt confident that she had found a strong test case: the family of the boy, Cornelius Hawkins. [35][34] Benedict Fenwick, the Bishop of Boston, privately lamented the fate of the slaves and considered the sale an extreme measure.