The historic Memorial Episcopal Church in Baltimore’s Bolton Hill neighborhood is going further than just acknowledging its historical ties to slavery, its committing $500K in reparations to descendants of slavery over the next five years to atone for its racist past.
The church first examined its history in 2017 at the behest of Rev. Grey Maggiano, the church rector. Research unearthed earlier rectors opposed giving Black men the right to vote in Maryland and opposed having Black families as neighbors.
The church was also started as a memorial to founders Rev. Henry Van Dyke Johns and the Rev. Charles Ridgely Howard, both of who were proponents of slavery and came from families who enslaved hundreds, according to Episcopal News Service.
Deacon Natalie Conway is one Black woman whose ancestors were enslaved by Howard. She talked about the emotional toll it took to learn the information.
“Some of my mother’s family were enslaved by the rector of this church,” Conway told Baltimore CBS Local. “And I looked up, there were plaques in the back. Mt first reaction was to get a sledgehammer. Having them in this sacred space where we’re working towards becoming one just didn’t seem right.”
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Maggiano agreed with Conway. “It became apparent that they had to go as quickly as possible,” Maggiano said. “Natalie’s truth and the other members of this congregation’s truth was that those plaques were a constant reminder that their ancestors were enslaved.”
In addition to the unanimous vote to remove the plaques honoring its founders, the church said they knew they had to do more. Hence the commitment of half a million dollars in reparations to Black-led justice programs in West Baltimore.
According the church website, Memorial Episcopal is “a Justice-Focused, Jesus-Centered Community in the heart of Baltimore. Memorial seeks to be a diverse and inclusive home for all those seeking a deeper relationship with God. We strive to follow Christ’s commandments by actively working to make each other, our community, city and world better.”
It is a mission Maggiano and his parishioners take pride in as noted by the Black Lives Matter banner which hangs at the church’s entrance..
“We’ve got to make changes in what we do, not just in the symbols on our walls, but the work we do out in the world,” Maggiano said.
