Georgetown slaves raise questions about how we salve our consciences | Winters - National Catholic Reporter

Georgetown slaves raise questions about how we salve our consciences | National Catholic Reporter

By Michael Sean Winters

In 1838, in an effort to stabilize the finances of Georgetown University, the Jesuits who ran the place decided to sell 272 slaves who worked on their Maryland plantations.

Fast forward to 2015. New York Times reporter Rachel Swarns gets a call from a colleague in the business section of the paper with a tip. [Full disclosure: Swarns is an old friend from my days living in Washington, D.C.] That colleague had heard from a Georgetown alumnus who was unsuccessful in trying to get to the bottom of the story about the slaves. Swarns had recently published her book, American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama, so it made sense for her colleague in the business section to go to her with the Georgetown story.