‘Make it right’: Descendants of slaves demand restitution from Georgetown

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- One-hundred-and-eighty years after Jesuit priests sold slaves to save Georgetown University from financial ruin, a group of descendants is calling for restitution.

The university’s president has apologized for the sale, and the school has taken steps to make amends. But Georgetown owes its existence to the money made from the sale of 272 enslaved people, argued Georgia Goslee, lead counsel for the GU272 Isaac Hawkins Legacy group. And the school is no longer near insolvency, but instead a thriving, elite university with a substantial endowment.

She declined Wednesday at a news conference to name the amount the group proposed to the university in June, but said her clients “do not believe Georgetown has fully atoned for the wealth it unjustly accumulated off the back of unpaid slave labor.”

Asked about the possibility of reparations, a school spokeswoman said Georgetown’s president, John DeGioia, has been clear about the ways the university could most significantly address racial injustice. That includes educational opportunities, perhaps partnerships with historically black universities, or help with college readiness, genealogy, memorials and reunion projects.



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