RandomGuy
09-02-2016, 01:06 PM
Washington (AFP) - Georgetown University on Thursday announced measures to atone for profiting from the sale of nearly 300 slaves in the 19th century, giving an edge in admissions to their descendants.
University President John DeGioia promised an official apology that would come in the form of a "mass of reconciliation in which we will seek forgiveness for our participation in the institution of slavery."
Georgetown is also renaming school buildings to honor those enslaved, creating a new institute for the study of slavery and building a memorial honoring slaves whose work benefited the university.
Georgetown, a Jesuit school founded in 1789, is one of the oldest universities in the United States.
In 1838, the sale of 272 slaves who worked on Jesuit plantations in nearby Maryland helped finance the university's operations. The sale was worth about $3.3 million in today's dollars, and the slaves were sent off to Louisiana.
The school used about $500,000 in today's dollars of the proceeds to pay off the school's growing debt.
Nearly two centuries after Georgetown's slave sale, America is still grappling with the legacy of slavery, which was formally abolished in 1865.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-university-admissions-boost-slave-descendants-142944123.html
Good. Seems like the decent thing to do.
University President John DeGioia promised an official apology that would come in the form of a "mass of reconciliation in which we will seek forgiveness for our participation in the institution of slavery."
Georgetown is also renaming school buildings to honor those enslaved, creating a new institute for the study of slavery and building a memorial honoring slaves whose work benefited the university.
Georgetown, a Jesuit school founded in 1789, is one of the oldest universities in the United States.
In 1838, the sale of 272 slaves who worked on Jesuit plantations in nearby Maryland helped finance the university's operations. The sale was worth about $3.3 million in today's dollars, and the slaves were sent off to Louisiana.
The school used about $500,000 in today's dollars of the proceeds to pay off the school's growing debt.
Nearly two centuries after Georgetown's slave sale, America is still grappling with the legacy of slavery, which was formally abolished in 1865.
..
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-university-admissions-boost-slave-descendants-142944123.html
Good. Seems like the decent thing to do.