Georgetown University seeks students
descended from its slaves
By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.07.16
Word Count 711
A Jesuit statue is seen in front of Freedom Hall, formerly named Mulledy Hall, on the Georgetown University campus in
Washington, D.C., September 1, 2016. Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, colleges are seen as great places of learning. Many of the
oldest colleges in the United States, though, had ties to slavery.
Priests Sold Slaves
In 1838, two Roman Catholic priests in charge of Georgetown University sold 272 men,
women and children to raise money for the school. The people were sold for $115,000, or
around $3.3 million in today's dollars. The slaves were sent to work in terrible conditions,
and their families were broken apart.
The records of the sale were very thorough. The names of many of the people sold are
included in bills of sale and other papers. Georgetown was able to find many living
descendants of the slaves. The priests and other leaders at Georgetown now recognize
that owning slaves was wrong. They want to do something to make up for the school's
past.
Trying To Apologize
On Thursday, the president of Georgetown University announced that the school will try to
let in more students who are descended from slaves. The school is trying to apologize for
making money from selling people.
John DeGioia, the school's president, made the announcement on Thursday. He also
explained the advice of a school committee that looked into Georgetown's ties to slavery.
The university plans to establish a place for the study of slavery. They will also make a
public memorial honoring slaves that Georgetown made money from.
DeGioia said in a speech that the school must admit that it took part in slavery. He said
that there were slaves at the school until all the slaves in the country were freed in 1862.
Inviting Applications
The university will reach out to those descendants and invite them to apply to the school.
They will be more likely to be admitted than other students. These students will be given
the same privileges as people whose parents went to Georgetown.
Universities around the United States have been trying to make up for their participation in
slavery. However, this is the first time a school will look for students descended from those
former slaves.
"Direct Ties To Slavery"
"The history of the American college is in fact a chapter in the history of American slavery,"
said Craig Steven Wilder. He is a historian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He
wrote a book about the ties between universities and slavery. "Every college that was
established before the American Revolution has direct ties to slavery." For example,
Princeton's first eight presidents owned slaves. Harvard's law school was made with
money from a slave owner. The University of Virginia was built by slaves.
At many schools, those darker histories remained hidden for years. Recently, often due to
pressure from students, some colleges are talking about their pasts.
Not Many Records
In 2006, for example, Brown University published a report showing its ties to the slave
trade. In 2014, they built a statue to show their role in slavery. Harvard posted a sign
honoring slaves who worked there. Last year, the University of Virginia named a new dorm
building after a slave couple who worked at the school.
Georgetown's new admissions advantage goes beyond what most colleges have done to
apologize for their pasts, Wilder said. However, it would be impossible for other schools to
do the same thing. Few records were kept at the time. It would be hard to find which
students have slaves as ancestors.
Official Apology
The Georgetown committee also called on the school to apologize officially for its ties with
slavery. DeGioia said that will happen at a Catholic "mass of reconciliation."
DeGioia announced that the university will rename the two buildings what used to be
named for the priests who organized the sale. One of those buildings will be named after
Isaac. He was an enslaved man whose name is the first mentioned in records of the sale.
The other will be named after Anne Marie Becraft. She was a free African-American woman
who founded a school for black girls in the Georgetown neighborhood in 1827.
Georgetown will make a memorial to the slaves whose sale benefited the university. It will
also establish an Institute for the Study of Slavery and its Legacies. The institute will
support continued study of the history of slavery and engagement with descendants.
Quiz
1
2
Based on information in the article, which of these statements is TRUE?
(A)
Georgetown will admit all of the living descendants of slaves.
(B)
Georgetown is the only university that participated in slavery.
(C)
Georgetown did not keep records of the names of the slaves sold.
(D)
Georgetown sold hundreds of people to raise money for the school.
Read the sentence from the article:
The school is trying to apologize for making money from selling
people.
Which sentence from the article BEST explains what Georgetown plans to do to apologize?
3
4
Which section of the article explains HOW Georgetown University will try to make up for its
past?
(A)
Introduction [paragraph 1]
(B)
"Inviting Applications"
(C)
"Direct Ties To Slavery"
(D)
"Not Many Records"
What is the relationship between the oldest American universities and slavery?
(A)
Many of the oldest universities were funded or built using slavery.
(B)
Few of the universities founded before the Revolution had slaves.
(C)
All of the oldest universities fought to end the American slave trade.
(D)
The universities that were involved in slavery no longer exist.
Answer Key
1
2
Based on information in the article, which of these statements is TRUE?
(A)
Georgetown will admit all of the living descendants of slaves.
(B)
Georgetown is the only university that participated in slavery.
(C)
Georgetown did not keep records of the names of the slaves sold.
(D)
Georgetown sold hundreds of people to raise money for the school.
Read the sentence from the article:
The school is trying to apologize for making money from selling
people.
Which sentence from the article BEST explains what Georgetown plans to do to apologize?
3
4
Which section of the article explains HOW Georgetown University will try to make up for its
past?
(A)
Introduction [paragraph 1]
(B)
"Inviting Applications"
(C)
"Direct Ties To Slavery"
(D)
"Not Many Records"
What is the relationship between the oldest American universities and slavery?
(A)
Many of the oldest universities were funded or built using slavery.
(B)
Few of the universities founded before the Revolution had slaves.
(C)
All of the oldest universities fought to end the American slave trade.
(D)
The universities that were involved in slavery no longer exist.