Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation
Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation
Georgetown University campus in spring with leafy green trees in the foreground. Centered is a multi-story brick building topped with a cross on an angled roof.

Reconciliation Fund

The Reconciliation Fund, inspired by a 2019 student referendum, awards grants to community-based projects that aim to have a positive impact on communities of Descendants whose ancestors were once enslaved on Maryland Jesuit plantations.

Healy Hall, a multi-story gothic building, in the spring with vibrant yellow orange flowers in the foreground.

Reconciliation Fund Applications

Applications are open to organizations and to individuals proposing projects, and will be prioritized based on how well they demonstrate an impact on Descendant communities connected to Jesuit slaveholding in the U.S., particularly the families who were once enslaved on plantations in Maryland and sold in 1838 to plantation owners in Louisiana.

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Past Recipients

Reconciliation fund awardees were selected by the University after an application process led by the Student Awards Committee with consultation from a Descendants Advisory Committee.

An aerial view of Healy Circle, just inside the main entrance of Georgetown.

About the Reconciliation Fund

Led by a Student Awards Committee, a Descendant Advisory Committee and a University Review Board, the Reconciliation Fund supports community-based projects such as health and legal clinics, environmental justice projects, after school and pre-college programs, projects focused on local history and memorialization and more. Over 500 Georgetown alumni have provided support to the fund.

More About the Fund

Community Voices

About the Fund Launch
Zac Colon, a young darker-skinned young person.

“In order for us to grow as a society, we need to acknowledge and right the wrongs of the past,” he said. “I am privileged in my ability to be a Ph.D student at Georgetown University, but I believe it is my duty as a leader to make sure that Georgetown fulfills its promise to the Descendants of the slaves that the school exploited in its past.”

— Zac Colon, Co-Chair of the Student Awards Committee
Lee Baker, a dark-skinned man with mustache, wearing a navy suit with a red tie.

“We are necessarily connected, and with intentionality, could create learning and other discoveries beyond our imagination. In other words, we anchor Descendants and Georgetown toward a future of immeasurable possibilities.”

— Lee Baker, Member of the Descendant Advisory Board
Then-president John J. DeGioia, a white man wearing a dark navy suit, speaks from behind a podium.

“The Reconciliation Fund is a collective effort — an example of our community’s deep commitment to the possibilities that can emerge when we work in partnership to advance reconciliation. This project is one way the university is reckoning with the legacies of slavery that have shaped our past and to respond by advancing justice and equity in our present.”

— Georgetown President Emeritus John J. DeGioia
View of the Georgetown University Hilltop campus.

Application Process

Grants are awarded each year through an application process that begins in the fall. Both individuals and organizations are eligible to apply.

More About the Application Process
Frequently Asked Questions
Support the Fund