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Reckoning with History: Jesuit Slaveholding and the Present Work of Restorative Justice

Reckoning with History: Jesuit Slaveholding and the Present Work of Restorative Justice

Facing the history and legacy of Jesuit slaveholding

Over the last 10 years, the Hank Center has convened several conversations on the hard history of Jesuit slaveholding-- not only taking a focused look at Georgetown's slave-owning past but also examining other aberrational institutional and corporate behaviors in regard to subjugation and power taking place in the US both historically and presently.

Reckoning with History is a multi-panel conversation that seeks to share this slaveholding history, examine the experience of grappling with these facts, understand the approaches to take action, and explore ways that individuals, organizations, and university communities can move forward in a just and careful way.

We are most honored to welcome Rachel L. Swarns, longtime correspondent with the New York Times and author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church, as our keynote speaker and conversation partner. We are also delighted by our partnership with Monique Maddox, President of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, and we have a most engaging set of sessions planned.

Reckoning with History will focus on the following objectives:

Sharing this history and telling the story of slavery's effects on the people connected to it.

Grappling with the reality of these facts and reflecting on what is invited in the way of recognition, healing, and justice.

Discussing, exploring, and committing to restorative action.

One guiding set of questions to consider for those who plan to attend: How do we approach this history and react to institutional slaveholding as individuals? As a University? As partners in Jesuit/Ignatian educational mission? As a nation? As a Church?


Event Details

October 17–18, 2024

Information Commons 4th Floor, Lake Shore Campus

Loyola University Chicago

Admission is free and all are welcome.


Event Program

View event program

Thursday, 10/17, 7 PM-8:45 PM: Keynote Presentation and Discussion

  • Monique Trusclair Maddox, President of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation

  • Rachel Swarns, Author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church

  • Fr. Tim Kesicki, SJ, Rector of the Bellarmine House of Studies at Saint Louis University and President Emeritus of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States

Friday, 10/18, 8:30 AM - 2 PM: 9 -10:15 AM: Panel 2, The Role of Historical Scholarship

  • Dr. Adam Rothman, Professor in the History Department and Director of Georgetown's Center for the Study of Slavery and Its Legacies

  • Dr. Elsa Mendoza, Associate Professor of History at Middlebury College

    • Rothman and Mendoza together co-edited Facing Georgetown’s History: A Reader on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation (Georgetown University Press, 2021) and curated the Georgetown Slavery Archive.

  • Dr. Leslie Harris, Professor of History at Northwestern University

  • Moderator: Dr. Malik Henfield

10:15– 10:30 AM: Break

10:30 – 11:15 AM: Response by Rwandan Bishop Balthazar Ntivuguruzwa

11:15 – 11:30 AM: Break

11:30 – 12:45 PM: Panel 3, A Praxis of Reconciliation

  • Robin Rue Simmons, Executive Director of FirstRepair

  • Monica Haslip, Executive Director of Little Black Pearl Workshop

  • Fr. Joshua Peters, SJ, Director of Mission and Identity at Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory School and Jesuit Antiracism and Sodality Leadership

  • Moderator: Monique Trusclair Maddox

12:30 PM: Prayer before lunch 12:45

– 2 PM: Lunch ~2PM Symposium concludes.


Featured Speakers

Monique Trusclair Maddox
Rachel Swans

Monique Trusclair Maddox

President of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation

Rachel Swarns

Author of 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church

Elsa Mendoza
Dr. Leslie Harris

Dr. Elsa Mendoza

Assistant Professor at Middlebury College

Dr. Leslie M. Harris

Professor of American History at Northwestern University

Fr. Tim Kesicki. S.J.
Adam Rothman

Fr. Tim Kesicki, S.J.

President Emeritus of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Rector Bellarmine House of Studies, Saint Louis University

Dr. Adam Rothman

Professor in the History Department and Director of Georgetown's Center for the Study of Slavery and Its Legacies

Robin Rue Simmons
Monica Haslip

Robin Rue Simmons

Founder and Executive Director of FirstRepair

Monica Haslip

Founder and Executive Director of Little Black Pearl

Joshua M. Peters, SJ

Fr. Joshua Peters, SJ

Director of Mission and Identity at Christ the King Jesuit College Prep, Chicago

Bishop Balthazar Ntivuguruzwa

Bishop Balthazar Ntivuguruzwa

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kabgayi in Rwanda