The Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project is committed to a transformative process of truth-telling, reconciliation, and healing that, in conversation with the descendants of people held in bondage, acknowledges historical harms, seeks to repair relationships, and works within our communities to address the legacies of slavery that persist in the form of racial inequities today.
The Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation project is an initiative of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Our office is in St. Louis, where we work in close partnership with Saint Louis University. We are also partnered with the St. Louis African American History and Genealogy Society in our research efforts.
The Society of Jesus relied on the labor of enslaved people globally, almost from their founding. In colonial North America, and, over time, in the United States, their involuntary labor helped establish, expand, and sustain Jesuit missionary efforts and educational institutions until the abolition of slavery in 1865. Jesuits in the colonial period held people in bondage in what are now Maryland and Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Canada and the Great Lakes region. In the nineteenth century, the labor of enslaved people supported Jesuit missions, churches, and schools in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois, and Kansas. Georgetown University, Saint Louis University, and Spring Hill College relied directly upon enslaved labor, as did colleges in Kentucky and Louisiana that are now closed.
Image courtesy of the Jesuit Archives and Research Center.
We, the Jesuits, deeply regret our participation in this evil institution. No one today can reconcile these actions with the current teaching of the Church or with our commitments as Jesuits, but they are an undeniable part of our history. We are called now to an intentional response: one that foregrounds the lived experiences of enslaved people, acknowledges the legacies of Jesuit slaveholding, and is made in collaboration with descendants and those in our communities who continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery.
We began by conducting extensive research with an intentional focus on the lives of enslaved people. This ongoing process of creating a more complete picture of the past has enabled us to trace family lineages and connect with descendants, so that they can be at the table from the beginning of conversations about how Jesuits and their institutions should act to repair the damage done by slavery.
Working in close partnership with descendant communities will enable us to address the persistent vestiges of Jesuit slaveholding that manifest in our schools, universities, and parishes. We are committed to a cross-institutional approach that includes and invites contributions from multiple stakeholders, including descendants and descendant communities, community members, scholars, Jesuits, and Jesuit schools, ministries, and parishes.
The Society of Jesus participated in the institution of slavery in North America from the colonial era until the passage of the 13th Amendment. The involuntary labor of the people the Jesuits owned, rented, and borrowed helped establish, expand, and sustain Jesuit missionary efforts and educational institutions in colonial North America and, over time, across the United States. The Jesuits’ use of enslaved labor is a legacy shared by all Jesuits and Jesuit institutions.
Kaskaskia, Illinois Country
At its height, the forced labor of 68 indigenous and African enslaved people supported the Jesuits on their Kaskaskia plantation in Illinois Country.Maryland
Jesuits owned enslaved people at several plantations, farms, and schools in Maryland and Pennsylvania, including at Georgetown University. They sold more than 272 enslaved people from their plantations to southern Louisiana in a notorious sale in 1838. Learn more at the Georgetown Slavery Archive.New Orleans, Louisiana
French Jesuits expanded their slaveholding from the Caribbean to colonial New Orleans, where they established a plantation on which about 150 enslaved people cultivated sugar, figs, indigo, oranges, and other products. These plantations supplied the income Jesuits used for their educational and missionary activities.Missouri
In 1823, Thomas and Molly Brown, Moses and Nancy Queen, and Isaac and Susanna Hawkins were forced on a journey from Maryland with twelve Jesuits to found the Missouri Mission. The families of Proteus and Anny Hawkins and Jack and Sally Queen were forced on the same journey seven years later.St. Mary’s College, Lebanon, Kentucky
French Jesuits assumed the ownership of enslaved people at St. Mary’s College when they took over its administration. They relied on the forced labor of Rachel, Teresa, and more than 15 other people until they left to run what is now Fordham University in New York. They left their enslaved people with the priests who took over St. Mary’s College.St. Charles College, Grand Coteau, Louisiana
When French Jesuits opened St. Charles College, they purchased three enslaved people: Philodie and her daughter Rachel, and Ignatius Gough. In addition, Jesuits rented or borrowed enslaved people from the Sisters of the Sacred Heart and local slaveowners. Over time, the number of people the Jesuits owned grew.Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama
Slavery pervaded Spring Hill College’s history since its founding in 1830. We know little about the lives of enslaved people at the college, especially after Jesuits took over in 1847, primarily because fires destroyed many of the college’s earliest records. We will share information as we learn more.St. Joseph College, Bardstown, Kentucky
When Jesuits took over operation of St. Joseph College from the diocese of Louisville, they kept all of the enslaved people then at the college, except Charles, Dave and his wife Maria, and their children. In addition to the people they owned, they rented other enslaved people from local lay slaveowners, clergy, and women’s religious orders.
Image taken by Kenneth C. Zirkel
During the 19th century, enslaved people maintained Spalding Hall, the main building of St. Joseph College.
We learn more every day about the lives of the people the Jesuits held in bondage. Their experiences were similar to those of other enslaved people in the United States. Although they endured abysmal living conditions, physical violence, family separation and the rupture of relationships, enslaved people were resilient, going to courageous lengths to protect themselves and their families, resist their enslavement, and achieve freedom.
Slavery was not an institution that operated in isolation. Slaveholders, and slaveowning institutions, shared in their complicity of holding human beings in bondage.
By saying “owned, rented, and borrowed,” we are acknowledging that the Jesuits’ participation in the systems of slavery was far more widespread than it appears if we only pay attention to the lives of people they owned directly. Jesuits exploited the lives and labor of people they rented from other local owners, and people they received as loans without the expectation of compensation to the slaveowner.
We learn more every day about the lives and experiences of the enslaved adults and children whose unfree labor helped establish and sustain Jesuit missions and schools in places like Missouri, Maryland, Kentucky, Louisiana and Alabama. As we continue our research, we seek not only to share with descendants of people the Jesuits held in slavery what we know about their ancestors’ histories, but also to listen to and learn from them about their families’ stories, past and present. We are working to connect with living descendants of those held in bondage by the Jesuits and their institutions, not only because we want to share what we have learned, but also because we hope to work with them to find ways to create solidarity and end racism in our communities.
We invite descendants, community members, scholars, Jesuits, and Jesuit institutions to join us in our effort.
If you think you might descend from people held in slavery by Jesuits, or would like to learn more, we invite you to contact us at SHMR@Jesuits.org or 314-758-7159.
Click on the links below for information on determining if you are a descendant:
The Jesuits recognize that slavery is evil and that their slaveholding was a sin. We are led by descendants of people the Jesuits held in slavery as we engage in a long overdue process of truth-telling and transformation.
Decisions about how to repair relationships and transform the historical harms of slavery should be made by and with descendants and descendant communities, not for them. We work in relationship with descendants to address how Jesuits should respond to their slaveholding and its legacies. If you believe you are a descendant, we invite you to contact us.
We are engaged in historical and genealogical research in order to share the realities of enslaved people’s lives and to connect with descendants. We are partnered with the St. Louis African American History and Genealogy Society in our research efforts, and we intend to build similar partnerships as we grow.
We are committed to transparency. We are sharing about our efforts through publications, social media, conferences, media outlets, meetings with community stakeholders, and other platforms.
The Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation (SHMR) Project holds itself to ethical standards as we work in partnership with descendants and descendant communities and engage with the history of Jesuit slaveholding. Rather than replicate the same injustices that undergirded race-based chattel slavery, we aim to contribute to an interpretation of history that prioritizes the voices and needs of descendants and descendant communities. SHMR is committed to respecting the voices of people who have been historically marginalized and their descendants as we work to address both the central role slavery played in the early development of Jesuit institutions and the lasting impact of slavery on American society.
Coming to the Table
Organization that provides resources and a supportive environment for those wishing to address the injustices that stem from slavery.
Equal Justice Initiative
Organization dedicated to ending mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality.
Live Free, a campaign of Faith in Action
Network of congregations working to end gun violence and mass incarceration, which disproportionately affect people of color.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Civil rights organization working to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of people of color.
National Urban League
Civil rights organization that advocates for social justice and economic equality for African Americans.
Showing Up for Racial Justice
Organization working to undermine white supremacy and promote racial justice.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation Racial Equity Resource Guide
Comprehensive list of grassroots, academic, and other organizations working within the field of racial equity.
“African American Catholics and the quest for racial justice”
Fr. Bryan Massingale writes in U.S. Catholic about how the Catholic faith demands a commitment to racial justice.
“Let’s be a church where Black lives matter”
Fr. Bryan Massingale writes in U.S. Catholic about how Catholics can confront racism in the United States.
Jesuit Social Research Institute
A collaboration of Loyola University New Orleans and the Society of Jesus dedicated to research and action on issues of poverty, race, and migration in the Gulf Coast.
“Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and Racism”
Fred Kammer, S.J., discusses Catholic teachings on racism.
Ignatian Solidarity Network Racial Justice Resources
A list of articles, exercises, toolkits, books, etc. addressing issues of racial justices from a Catholic, Jesuit perspective.
“Raids Across the Color Line”
Christopher Pramuk, blog by author on race relations in society and the Catholic Church.
“Black History Month: Confronting the Mixed History of the Jesuits”
Ken Homan, S.J., writes in The Jesuit Post about the history of Jesuits and race.
Antiracist Research and Policy Center (American University)
Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice (Brown University)
Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity (Ohio State University)
#BlackCatholic Syllabus
A collection of resources on Black Catholics in the United States compiled by Dr. Tia Noelle Pratt.
Center for Racial Justice in Education
Organization dedicated to dismantling injustice and prejudice in America’s schools.
Courageous Conversations: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools
Book by Glenn Singleton explores how race impacts students’ lives and provides tools and strategies to facilitate discussions of race and racism.
Teaching Tolerance
Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center that provides free resources for educators to reduce prejudice and support children of color in America’s schools.
“Let’s Talk! Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students”
Teaching Tolerance guide designed to facilitate open dialogue on racism and inequality.
The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice, by Fania E. Davis
The Little Book of Racial Healing, by Thomas Norman DeWolfe and Jodie Geddes
So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo.
Book offers an approach to having honest conversations about race and racism in contemporary U.S. life.
“How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race”
TEDx Talk by Jay Smooth.
Discussion of the difficulty of talking about race and strategies to create opportunities to talk openly.
Code Switch
NPR podcast about race and identity.
Life and Labor under Slavery: the Jesuit Plantation Project
By Dr. Sharon M. Leon
Jesuit Slaveholding in Maryland, 1717-1838
By Thomas Murphy, SJ
Jesuits’ Enslaved Communities
Enslaved community and kinship network visualizations by Kelly L. Schmidt
“272 Slaves Were Sold to Save Georgetown. What Does It Owe Their Descendants?”
New York Times, by Rachel Swarns
Report of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation to the President of Georgetown University
Working Group on Xavier’s Connection with Slavery
Xavier University, Cincinnati
John Carroll University Working Group on Slavery – Legacy and Reconciliation
Report to the President of the College of Holy Cross, The Mulledy/Healy Legacy Committee
“Southern veils: the sisters of Loretto in early national Kentucky”
Master’s thesis by Hannah O’Daniel
“The Nuns Who Bought and Sold Human Beings” By Rachel Swarns, New York Times.
“Religious orders owning slaves isn’t new – black Catholics have emphasized this history for years”
By Dr. Shannen Dee Williams, America Magazine.
“Facing an Uncomfortable Truth”
Kentucky Educational Television (KET) program on African Americans and the Catholic Church in Kentucky, from the role of enslaved people in the early Church to Black Catholics in Kentucky today.
The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
“Recognizing those who helped build the Church”
“Black History Month: ‘Now we know their names’”
“Sisters of Charity Nazareth confront own history of slavery”
The Society of the Sacred Heart
“Slavery, Accountability, Reconciliation Past and Present: Confronting our Racism”
“Descendants gather in memory and honor of enslaved ancestors”
“Honoring the oppressed: Sisters begin reparations with descendants of enslaved people”
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School
“The History of Enslaved People at Visitation”
Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities
By Craig Steven Wilder
Slavery and the University: History and Legacies
Leslie Harris, James Campbell, and Alfred Brophy, editors
Universities Studying Slavery Consortium
Report of the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice
President’s Commission on Slavery and the University, University of Virginia
The Lemon Project, The College of William and Mary
Scarlet and Black Project, Rutgers University
Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, Harvard University
“A Brief History of Slavery You Didn’t Learn in School,” New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project
“The History of American Slavery,” podcast episode hosted by Jamelle Bouie and Rebecca Onion, conversations with historians and writers.
Enslavement and the Underground Railroad, PBS Black History and Culture Connection.
Digital Library on American Slavery, University of North Carolina-Greensboro
Black Abolitionist Archive, University of Detroit Mercy
Slave Voyages
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, Intra-American Slave Trade Database, and African Names Database
FamilySearch Center at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati, OH)
Family History Centers from FamilySearch, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (Washington D.C.)
Midwest Genealogy Center (Independence, MO)
Genealogy Research Sessions at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington D.C.)
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
“African American Genealogy”
American Ancestors by New England Historic Genealogical Society
African American Online Genealogy Records
FamilySearch, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Co-Director Danielle Harrison and Research Coordinator Kelly Schmidt speak to Angela Pancella of St. Francis Xavier College Church in St. Louis about the work of the SHMR project.
Peter Hawkins was the first child born into slavery at the Jesuits’ St. Stanislaus Novitiate and Farm in Florissant, Missouri, and the last formerly-enslaved person to leave the seminary after emancipation.
Members of the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation (SHMR) team spoke at the Catholic Research Resources Alliance’s virtual annual meeting about the lives of people enslaved to members of the Society of Jesus and of the Catholic Church; the impact of this shared history upon archives and modern reconciliation efforts; and contemporary work to facilitate conversations between Jesuits and descendants of people they held in bondage.
Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis of the Jesuitical podcast from America Media interview SHMR project members about the lives of the enslaved people owned by the Jesuits in the Midwest, how they are working with descendants and the meaning of reconciliation.
We invite descendants, community members and scholars to join us in addressing the legacy of Jesuit slaveholding and moving forward together. If you believe you may be a descendant of the enslaved people held in bondage by the Jesuits or Saint Louis University, if you’d like to learn more, or if you want to contribute to this initiative, please contact us using the form below or call us at 314.758.7159.
