The Hypocrisy of Slavery Justification Rationale in Georgetown
The Hypocrisy of Slavery Justification Rationale in Georgetown
The immediate response at discovering Georgetown’s past involvement with the institution of slavery is the question “how?” How could a Jesuit Catholic institution ever be involved in such a brute and dehumanizing activity as slavery? What about the Jesuit values such as kinship, justice, and men and women for others that Georgetown espouses? In regards to this, documents from the pertaining time reveal that Georgetown reasoned its involvement with slavery as a means to uphold and share those same Jesuit beliefs and values.[1] In their rationale, slavery was through religion a means to a selfless end, this is, ensuring that the gospel reached all slaves and that they were treated fairly.
“As bad as a priest’s slave” is a letter written by Fr. Beschter on March 27, 1829. The title sets the tone of the letter and its intention at exposing the hypocrisy within the rationale of Georgetown in regards to slavery. There was no evident distinction between an enslaved person owned by a commoner and another owned by the Jesuits. [2] Meaning no special action was taken by the priests or the institution to ensure differentiation as expected. The normalcy would have been for priests' slaves to have been in a sense holier than other slaves yet they were filled with heresy and faithlessness. This contributed to the term “as bad as a priest’s slave” becoming an insult since it showcased the level of depravity engaged by priest's slaves. For they stole, practiced drunkenness, fornication, adultery, and got away with it.[3] The letter showcases a genuine conversion happening in the community by the influence of Georgetown priests yet excluding the enslaved people groups. This verifies that the real motive behind Georgetown’s slavery involvement was a purely financial one. If religious it would be easier to impact the enslaved people than outsiders due to proximity and degree of influence, yet this was not the case. The Jesuit's concern for the spiritual well-being of people did not encompass the enslaved community.[4] This serves as evidence of a deeply rooted culture of racism, segregation, and favoritism.
Throughout the years, an inner and public debate regarding Georgetown’s involvement with slavery began to grow. As a response, the university did not free the enslaved people, providing them the justice they much desired and deserved, but sold them into plantations in Louisiana.[5] Though blurring the line between reason and self-justification, this document highlights how religion was not a sufficient reason or justification for the practice of slavery. Yet religion was utilized as a tool of self-justification, this is, which is needed when one’s behavior is inconsistent with one’s beliefs. The real reason for involvement in slavery was financial gain yet claiming religious intention eased the sense of wrongfulness.
Georgetown as part of a much larger system of facilitating the slave trade showcases the reality of the religious institutions involved with the exploitation of people. [6] No matter the given explanation, especially relating to religious beliefs, it is important to look beyond what was said to what was actually done.
Dalva Raposo
Class of '24
Bibliography
[5] [6] Rothman, Adam. Reckoning with Slavery at Georgetown. Association of American Colleges and Universities. https://www.aacu.org/diversitydemocracy/2018/summer/rothman.
[2] [3] [4] Beschter, F.W, “as bad as a Priest's Slave.” March 27, 1829. Georgetown Slavery Archive. https://slaveryarchive.georgetown.edu/items/show/469.
[1] Ryder, James. “Proslavery Oration by Rev. James Ryder, SJ, August 30, 1835.” Georgetown Slavery Archive. http://slaveryarchive.georgetown.edu/items/show/88.