Other colleges are moving toward reparations.
Georgetown University announced funding commitments to benefit descendants of the enslaved people who were sold or who worked to benefit the institutions, AP reported.
At Georgetown, undergraduates voted in April 2019 for a nonbinding referendum to pay a $27.20-per-semester “Reconciliation Contribution.” These funds would be directed at projects in underprivileged communities that are home to descendants of 272 slaves who were sold in 1838 sold to partially pay off the school’s debts.
Georgetown President John DeGioia overrode the students in favor of a university-led initiative with the goal of raising about $400,000 from donors, rather than students, to support projects such as health clinics and schools, AP reported.
Reparations discussions are also going on at the University of Alabama and the University of Chicago. Yale University removed the names of slavery supporters from buildings, while Brown University erected a slavery memorial sculpture. A memorial to enslaved laborers is under construction at the University of Virginia.
The Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey created a $27.6-million endowment after a historical audit showed that some founders used slave labor.
Nearly 56 universities have joined a consortium led by the University of Virginia called Universities Studying Slavery. The is to explore their ties to slavery and share research and strategies.
