Browse Exhibits (6 total)
Facing Georgetown's History

Georgetown was built on the foundation of slavery despite its Jesuit values. Slavery was deeply ingrained into the institution, in spite of all the contradictions between Jesuit values and the concept of slavery. Everyone ranging from administration to students actively participated in upholding the institution of slavery. They did not only participate, but the university actively encouraged them to do so. The tone in the recorded documents highlights how the ownership and trading of slaves were tried to be morally justified. Additionally, treatment of those who were enslaved continued to be recorded, such as their admittance to a segregated church until their freedom. Slavery can be found in the foundations and the expansion of the institution since Georgetown essentially made profit from the slaves that eventually contributed to further building the university.
This exhibit was created by the students in the Fall 2020 course, HIST106: Atlantic World, at Georgetown University Qatar. The course members assembled these materials to help members of the GUQ community participate in an informed way with ongoing discussions about slavery, memory, and reparations at Georgetown University, drawing on sources from the Georgetown Slavery Archive and the research of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.
How should we remember the history of slavery at Georgetown?

The act of commemorating the lives of enslaved people acts as an effective measure in the process of seeking and pursuing rectificatory justice. In order to honor the lives of the GU272, we must keep their memory alive and well. Most recently, the ongoing debate on the power of monuments that symbolizes white men who were involved with slavery has been on the rise. The most recent toppling of the monument of Edward Colston in Bristol, a man who was well known to have had a fair share in slavery sparked this debate as to whether monuments had any role in public life. This ongoing debate has led us, students of Georgetown University Qatar, to question how should we remember the history of Georgetown and slavery. Either because of the bustling students or the fast-paced campus life, it is easy to overlook the historical significance of the very university we are in. Though we often celebrate the academic successes made in our university’s history and what our alumni accomplished, we seldom discuss the grim history hiding within the walls, statues and even the very rooms you might be in right now. What made us who we are? Who exactly made us who we are and how we changed to accommodate the difficult times that this university faced would be the major questions that would be answered in this exhibition. What you would be looking at in this exhibition might be disturbing or not aligned with the ideas that you might previously hold, but it is history, thus we as students or faculty of Georgetown University remember that it happened and discuss what could be done about it in.
This exhibit was created by the students in the Fall 2020 course, HIST106: Atlantic World, at Georgetown University Qatar. The course members assembled these materials to help members of the GUQ community participate in an informed way with ongoing discussions about slavery, memory, and reparations at Georgetown University, drawing on sources from the Georgetown Slavery Archive and the research of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.
What does reconciliation mean?

It would not be an overstatement to say that as the members of Georgetown University we will forever live in the shadows of slavery that was institutionalized in the US. Without Georgetown’s ties to slavery, including the sale of 272 enslaved people in 1838, it would not be standing as 231 year old institution; this history of injustices of slavery at Georgetown can not be erased completely, but we can only find ways to reconcile with the past. There have been previous attempts to reconcile slavery at Georgetown, whether that be through renaming buildings or having discussions and events, however does this satisfy what reconciliation should look like?
Reconciliation at universities and other institutions in the US is a question that has come to the fore in recent years. Especially because Georgetown, as well as many other institutions, were deeply rooted and preserved by their relationship with slavery, traces of the slave trade cannot be ignored or pushed aside. Georgetown, arguably, sets an example of how reconciliation should be maintained, and considering that, this exhibit will try to answer the question of whether Georgetown’s effort to reconcile past injustices are enough, and if not, what more should be done in order to truly reconcile Georgetown’s horrid past of slavery. Reconciliation and reparations are important not only to recognise the history of slavery, and be able to confront it and admit to it, but also to provide understanding and secure justice.
This exhibit was created by the students in the Fall 2020 course, HIST106: Atlantic World, at Georgetown University Qatar. The course members assembled these materials to help members of the GUQ community participate in an informed way with ongoing discussions about slavery, memory, and reparations at Georgetown University, drawing on sources from the Georgetown Slavery Archive and the research of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.
Why were Georgetown and the Maryland Jesuits involved in enslaving people?

Georgetown University stands today as one of the most honorable political institutions with impeccable values concerning morality and education. What many people might not have known is that the institution of Georgetown was built primarily through the selling and the enslavement of individuals. This exhibit will expose the multiplicity of reasons Georgetown used to justify its contribution to slavery. More than being an academic institution, Georgetown stood as a religious institution; this enabled a strong power structure between the Maryland Jesuits and the enslaved people. Presidents of the institution of Georgetown were also prominent religious figures, Leonarde Neale who acted both Bishop and president in 1805. [1] Understanding the intentions and justifications of the Maryland Jesuits over the enslaved people is crucial in cementing the institution's position against the enslaved people. One proved reasons out of many, as to why Georgetown was involved in the slave trade was religion. Religion was at the center of their justifications, Biblical scriptures from the book of Leviticus were used to justify slavery.[2]
The Maryland Jesuits heavily contributed to perpetuating the slave trade to gain financial power and economic prosperity. One of the reasons for the selling of the enslaved people is the financial state of Georgetown as they faced immense debts.[3] Georgetown did not own many enslaved people, rather, it rented laborers — the servants. And in this way, the Jesuits tried to lift the moral implications of having forced labor as a foundation of their Catholic institution. They attributed value to servitude instead of obedience, and in this, perpetuated slavery through a different representation.
Notes
[1] Georgetown University Archive , “Georgetown President Offering Provisions for the Enslaved, 1805,” Studying Atlantic Slavery from Qatar, accessed December 6, 2021, https://guqatlanticworld.georgetown.domains/admin/items/show/55.
[2] Joseph P. Mobberly, SJ Papers, “"Slavery is Good, is Necessary": The Mobberly Diaries, Part II, August 1823,” Georgetown Slavery Archive, accessed November 22, 2021, https://slaveryarchive.georgetown.edu/items/show/157, 33.
[3] Craig Wilder , “War and Priest: Catholic Colleges and Slavery in the Age of Revolution,” In Facing Georgetown’s History: A Reader on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation, ed. by Adam Rothman, Elsa Barraza Mendoza, and Laurent Savoy (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2021) 26 .
Bibliography
Mobberly, Joseph P. SJ Papers, “"Slavery is Good, is Necessary.": The Mobberly Diaries, Part II, August 1823,” Georgetown Slavery Archive, accessed November 22, 2021, https://slaveryarchive.georgetown.edu/items/show/157
Wilder, Craig. “War and Priest: Catholic Colleges and Slavery in the Age of Revolution.” In Facing Georgetown’s History: A Reader on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation, edited by Adam Rothman, Elsa Barraza Mendoza, and Laurent Savoy, 13-33. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2021
Georgetown University Archive , “Georgetown President Offering Provisions for the Enslaved, 1805,” Studying Atlantic Slavery from Qatar, accessed December 6, 2021, https://guqatlanticworld.georgetown.domains/admin/items/show/55.
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This exhibit was created by the students in the Fall 2021 course, HIST106: Atlantic World, at Georgetown University Qatar. The course members assembled these materials to help members of the GUQ community participate in an informed way with ongoing discussions about slavery, memory, and reparations at Georgetown University, drawing on sources from the Georgetown Slavery Archive and the research of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.
How did slavery end at Georgetown?

How did Slavery End At Georgetown?
The United States of America is a nation built by slavery— a direct contradicton to its promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Slavery’s legacy is embedded within the United States; American institutions, sovereignty, and existence all emerge from the history of enslavement. Georgetown is no different. This needs to be recognized, acknowledged, and reconciled with. In doing so, we, Georgetown students, must evaluate the institution's complex role in the history of enslavement.
Georgetown University, a prestigious Catholic university, is a product of the Atlantic world, as the American, French, and Haitian revolutions shaped its success, existence, and populated its campus.1 Georgetown’s deep and heinous relationship with slavery paved the social and financial conditions which promoted its prosperity and sponsored its operations. Enslaved people were subjugated, commodified, and exploited by Georgetown for the sole purpose of profitability. Profit for Georgetown was not only an economic gain, but a religious one as well, as the Maryland Jesuits were justifying slavery as a lawful way of committing their duty to God by collecting the souls of enslaved people.2
The end of slavery at Georgetown was a perplexing idea and a gradual process. Our collection of sources try to create a timeline of events which show the transformation that occurred in Georgetown, where freedom and emancipation brought upon a new narrative onto the lives of enslaved people. The question remains: In what ways did slavery end at Georgetown?
1 Adam Rothman and Elsa Barraza Mendoza, Facing Georgetown’s History (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2021), 14.
2 Adam Rothman and Elsa Barraza Mendoza, “A Sermon on the Treatment of Slaves, 1749” in Facing Georgetown’s History (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2021), 114.
Bibliography
Rothman, Adam and Elsa Barraza Mendoza. Facing Georgetown’s History. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2021.
Rothman, Adam and Elsa Barraza Mendoza. “A Sermon on the Treatment of Slaves, 1749” in Facing Georgetown’s History, 114-115. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2021.
This exhibit was created by the students in the Fall 2021 course, HIST106: Atlantic World, at Georgetown University Qatar. The course members assembled these materials to help members of the GUQ community participate in an informed way with ongoing discussions about slavery, memory, and reparations at Georgetown University, drawing on sources from the Georgetown Slavery Archive and the research of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.
What has Georgetown University done (and what must still be done) to make reparations for slavery?

In 1838, Thomas F Mulledy agreed to sell 272 slaves to Louisiana to repay Georgetown's rising debts. This sale single-handedly saved Georgetown as an institution from bankruptcy; all the while it separated families and left enslaved Jesuits in detriment. For generations to come, the descendants of the enslaved persons part of the 1838 struggled with the devastating repercussions of institutional slavery.
Recently Georgetown addressed its historical involvement with slavery and began to repair the damage it has done, by memorializing enslaved Jesuit family narratives, implementing the GU272 referendum, and publishing the GU slavery archive in 2016. This exhibit highlights Georgetown's reparations, which encompass commemorating the enslaved Jesuits through artwork and monuments, memorializing the legacies of enslaved family narratives, and developing closer ties with the descendants of enslaved Jesuits.
Although Georgetown is one of the first prominent colleges in the United States to make reparations for its participation in slavery, this exhibit also highlights what must still be done, such as the annual reading of their names at graduation ceremonies, giving descendants "founder status" at the university, making its history a part of the community's everyday life, and tackling the disparities in learning opportunities faced by the black community at Georgetown.
Georgetown's initiative to make reparations should focus not only on the descendants of the GU272 but also on the black community. We must remember that slavery affected a much larger group that still experiences racial injustices in the American system today. Hence, Georgetown must address the current discrimination towards the African American community as a whole by advocating for reparations nationwide.
This exhibit was created by the students in the Fall 2021 course, HIST106: Atlantic World, at Georgetown University Qatar. The course members assembled these materials to help members of the GUQ community participate in an informed way with ongoing discussions about slavery, memory, and reparations at Georgetown University, drawing on sources from the Georgetown Slavery Archive and the research of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.