Congresswoman Hopes Reparations Bill is Path to ‘Repair Some of the Damage’ Caused by Slavery

Nicholas Ballasy

12-30-2019 09:05:24 PM

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on Dec. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)


WASHINGTON – Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) told PJM that the federal government should conduct a study of reparations for descendants of slaves to be able to determine the best way to “repair some of the damage" that slavery has caused to the African-American community.

Jackson Lee became the lead sponsor of H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act, after Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) resigned from Congress.

The legislation seeks to “address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.”

“It’s a commission to study the issue of what was the economic impact of the work of slaves and how does it translate in the 21stcentury. And what we want to do is to build a narrative, a story of the facts and out of that be able to access how we repair some of the damage,” Jackson Lee said during a recent interview after her speech at the annual Legislative and Policy Conference organized by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

Descendants of 272 Slaves Sold By Georgetown Say They Want Reparation$$$ Now!

Angela HelmToday 1:00pm
Filed to:GEORGETOWN




A Jesuit statue is seen in front of Freedom Hall, formerly named Mulledy Hall, on the Georgetown University campus, Sept. 1, 2016, in Washington, D.C. After renaming the Mulledy and McSherry buildings at Georgetown University temporarily to Freedom Hall and Remembrance Hall, Georgetown University will give preference in admissions to the descendants of slaves owned by the Maryland Jesuits as part of its effort to atone for profiting from the sale of enslaved people. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)



As reported by The Root when the story first broke, the storied academic institution of Georgetown owes its entire existence to the sale of enslaved black men women and children. The sale of these humans by Jesuit priests saved the school from bankruptcy; to this day it remains a thriving academic institution, thick with a rich endowment.




What Does Georgetown University Owe the 272…

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And although Georgetown has apologized, and even offered an admissions advantage to the descendants of the 272 slaves it sold (talk about a “legacy” edge), some of those descendants are saying it’s not nearly commensurate for what their ancestors gave to the school.

Georgia Goslee, lead counsel for the GU272 Isaac Hawkins Legacy group, which includes 200 people, says her clients “do not believe Georgetown has fully atoned for the wealth it unjustly accumulated off the back of unpaid slave labor,” according to the Washington Post.

The GU272 Isaac Hawkins Legacy group has asked for a direct benefit for descendants. The Post reports that Thomas Craemer, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut, helped the group calculate their request for restitution, based on the idea that forced labor created wealth for others than the enslaved people. He also said descendants would otherwise have inherited money earned through their foreparents’ wages and interest.

In other words, gimme the loot.



Georgetown University’s ‘Reparations’ Plan…

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Georgetown spokesman, Meghan Dubyak, recently said that the school has “taken initial steps” to right the wrong including a formal apology remaining two buildings for the descendants, and the admissions advantage. It has also offered professional-level genealogy for the offspring.

And Georgetown’s president, John DeGioia, doesn’t seem to want to really discuss the “r” word (i.e., “reparations”) and has already proposed amends that are linked to more education, even partnering with HBCUs.

Georgetown to Give Slave Descendants Priority for Admission « CBS DC

Georgetown University (Credit: MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Georgetown to Give Slave Descendants Priority for Admission 

September 1, 2016 9:25 AM

WASHINGTON — Georgetown University will give preference in admissions to the descendants of slaves owned by the Maryland Jesuits as part of its effort to atone for profiting from the sale of enslaved people.
Georgetown president John DeGioia told news outlets that the university in Washington will implement the admissions preferences. He says Georgetown will need to identify and reach out to descendants of slaves and recruit them to the university.

On Thursday morning, a university committee released a report that also called on its leaders to offer a formal apology for the university’s participation in the slave trade.


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