No one was spared as two Catholic priests forced 272 people onto ships in Washington, D.C., headed south to Louisiana. They sold everyone – even a two-year-old baby – as part of one of the most-hidden sales of enslaved people.
Of course, the university doesn’t make this truth plain.
The struggling college, Georgetown University, relied on Maryland plantations to finance its operations. That is until 1838, when it was no longer enough to cover their debts. So it made the equivalent of about $3.3 million in today’s money from selling our people!
But they're not getting away with keeping the secret.
Today's Georgetown students recently organized a protest and sit-in, and fought the university to remove the names of the former presidents involved in the sale from campus buildings.
A university professor is also working with researchers to locate the descendants of some enslaved people the university sold.
The truth is, Georgetown isn't the only institution that owes its existence to us – all of white supremacy does. Countless universities and, actually, whole COUNTRIES, like the United States and much of Europe, wouldn't be what they are today without the labor of enslaved Black people.
We must never forget that, and we can never be quiet about the truth! Challenging white supremacy in all its facets must be a constant if we’re ever to be truly free.