Georgetown Will Give Slaves' Descendants Preferential Admissions Status
In the fall of 1838, Georgetown University sold 272 slaves to raise funds for the school.
Today, the Catholic institution is atoning for that sin-by awarding descendants of slaves preferential status in its admissions process, the New York Times reports. The school's president John J. DeGioia, is expected to outline the plan in a speech this afternoon that will include a number of additional steps the school is planning to take.
It will, reportedly, "offer a formal apology, create an institute for the study of slavery, and erect a public memorial to the slaves whose labor benefited the institution, including those who were sold in 1838 to help keep the university afloat. In addition, two campus buildings will be renamed-one for an enslaved African-American man and the other for an African-American educator who belonged to a Catholic religious order."
The move to give descendants of all slaves (not just the 272 sold by the school in 1838) preferential treatment in the admissions process is unprecedented. While other universities, such as Brown, Harvard, and the University of Virginia, have acknowledged their connections to slavery, none have offered this form of direct reparations to slave descendents. Georgetown notes this is the same preferential treatments offered to legacy applicants.
To read more about the university's plan, read the full story at the New York Times.
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