Universities generally revel in their past of long established academic excellence and surviving various hardships.
They garner brochures with Latin phrases and family crests evoking images of exclusivity.
But Georgetown University wishes it could redo part of its past.
The New York Times revealed the university sold off 272 slaves when trying to repay its 1838 debts. But rather than burying their past, Georgetown wants to remedy it.
There have been a number of proposed reparations for the descendants of these slaves, from money paid to surviving relatives to a memorial built on campus to remaining a few buildings in their honor. However, rather than dwelling on the past, the university should build a hopeful future and establish a fund for any surviving family members to attend Georgetown.
The university and a few key genealogists have undergone a massive investigation over the past year tracking down the descendants of the purchased slaves.
The paper trail from 1838 to today was driven by Cornelius Hawkins, a 13-year-old boy at the time of the sale.
From various church records, birth and death certificates the university was able to track down the remaining family members.
The New York Times was able to speak to a few of descendants — all of whom were over 50. However, they believe there may be thousands of living relatives.
While a memorial or renaming buildings in honor of the past slaves would be a touching move, establishing a scholarship would allow the great-great-grandchildren a chance at a future their grandparents worked by, but were never able to engage.
Georgetown isn’t the only school facing questions from their slaveholding past.
Harvard, Yale, Columbia and other universities came under fire after the church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, last summer. After the shooting, many institutions evaluated their ties to the confederacy and a slaveholding past.
Despite the violence, it spurred many institutions to action. Each has tried to address its tie to slavery in a fair manner.
Earlier this year, a historian pointed out that Harvard’s crest came from a former slaveholding family, according to the Boston Globe. Harvard addressed the issue by hanging a plaque where slaves used to work and holding seminars about slavery.
Yale dealt with similar issues last year when the university was questioned for the name of Calhoun College, one of the resident halls, which was named for John C. Calhoun. He was an alumnus and South Carolina politician who advocated for slavery. The issue is ongoing. There is a petition to change the name but no official response yet.
What makes the Georgetown situation unique is the ability to directly change the lives of the slaves they wronged in the past.
While Harvard and Yale deal with issues tied to the white masters who encouraged slavery, they have not been able to or attempted to reach the descendants of former slaves.
Scholarships would give Georgetown the chance to acknowledge its past while fixing their wrongs in the present.
wkiepura@indiana.edu
@wkiepura
