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Studying Atlantic Slavery from Qatar

Naming Reconciliation

“Naming Reconciliation” is a video made by Georgetown students: Renata Garcia, Sarah Fisher, Claire Nenninger, Henry Callander, Johnny Monday in 2017. The video was made to show the steps taken by a large institution to allow for reconciliation. These steps represent the times we live in right now, where reconciliation is an important issue to be addressed; as shown by the black lives matter protests that began because of the death of George Floyd: an African American victim of police brutality by Minneapolis police in Spring 2020. The protests proved increasingly pressing when they spread to outside of the United States and people all over the world were protesting despite a global pandemic. The video explains the situation of Georgetown in the 19th century when they sold 272 enslaved men, women and children to keep the institution running. In an effort to reconcile, the current president of Georgetown: John J Degioia removed the name of William McSherry from a building it was on because he was the president of Georgetown at the time of the sale. Degioia also removed the name of the man who was responsible for the sale: Thomas Mulledy. It also shows the current president of Georgetown saying, “We will offer a massive reconciliation in which we will seek forgiveness for our participation in the institution of slavery, specifically for the sale of 272 children, women 2 and men”. This is a very important step towards reconciliation as the descendants of slaves will forever be exposed to the after-effects such as misplacement; where African Americans may lack a sense of belonging to their country as well as their country of origin in Africa. Nonetheless, forgiveness might be the key to closing the racial divide in post-slavery America. However, only under certain conditions can forgiveness happen: where there is true equality in the country. Preferential admission for African Americans is the step that was taken by Georgetown. The reason this video was created was to display the steps being taken by Georgetown in order to confront its past. However, it also showed that there is more that should be done. In the video, we see that the name of the slave overseer Joseph Mobberly was not removed from a building. In addition, this video was impactful in informing people of these measures taken for reconciliation. Additionally, it reveals that the time of its creation was as it still is; a time for resolutions, healing and confrontation of the past. As we observe at the end of the video, John Hope Franklin’s quote is mentioned, “What we need to do as a nation and as individual members of society is to confront our past and see it for what it is, having done that, we should then make a good faith effort to turn our history around”. The story of the Atlantic World is a large one, with many untold stories bringing up more questions. However, what we know by the stories that we're told is that Africans became victims of slavery as they were bought and sold like commodities. The consequences of the institution of slavery, such as: systematic racism among others that are evident now and calling for solutions. This video is a step in the right direction, by informing people of steps taken for reconciliation, allows for healing and might even encourage other institutions to do the same.

Bibliography:

Parry, Marc. "A New Path to Atonement: Conflicts have mired the efforts of Georgetown and the Jesuits to make amends for their involvement with slavery. Now a more lasting reconciliation may be in sight." The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 25, 2019, A12+. Gale In Context: Biography (accessed November 14, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A573714963/BIC?u=wash43584&sid=BIC&xid=2293a9a0.

Hatch, John B. 2006. “Beyond Apologia: Racial Reconciliation and Apologies for Slavery.” Western Journal of Communication 70 (3): 186–211. doi:10.1080/10570310600843496.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=682e272e-41d5-41eb-852e-63bdb7915239%40sdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHVpZCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=ufh&AN=23220253&anchor=AN0023220253-3

 Dyson, Yarneccia D., Maria Del Mar Fariña, Maria A. Gurrola, and Bronwyn Cross-Denny. "Reconciliation as a Framework for Supporting Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity in Social Work Education." Social Work and Christianity 47, no. 1 (Spring, 2020): 83-95. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.34043/swc.v47i1.137. http://proxy.library.georgetown.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F2437194324%3Faccountid%3D11091.

Hartman, Saidiya. Lose Your Mother: A Journey along the Atlantic Slave Route. S.l.: PROFILE BOOKS LTD, 2021. 

 Williams, Kevin A, EMANCIPATED- Free your mind. 2020. https://artbywak.com/products/emancipated-free-your-mind?_pos=1&_sid=496b61783&_ss=r