Saint Louis University Student Government Association Adopts Resolution Urging University to Work with Descendants of the Saint Louis University Enslaved
2024年5月14日 - 4:07AM
The
Descendants of the Saint Louis University Enslaved
(DSLUE) continue to press forward in their effort for
reparative justice as the
Saint Louis University Student
Government Association (SGA) has passed a resolution
encouraging the University to move forward using the descendants'
10-point plan as a starting point. On April 24, 2024, SGA Senate
Resolution (SR) 007-24 acknowledged that the University "has not
made substantial progress toward reconciling with SLU's history of
enslavement," and states that "not atoning, reconciling and
acknowledging the university's past with enslavement directly
contrasts the mission of Saint Louis University."
The remedies put forth in the DSLUE 10-point plan include a
formal apology from the University, a school-wide initiative to
continue researching and preserving evidence of the university's
reliance on slaves, commemorations and memorials, and direct
support from the University in the form of scholarships, economic
opportunities, and cash payments. The plan asks the University to
actively collaborate with DSLUE in advancing these initiatives,
which include fundraising efforts that would support the suggested
initiatives.
"Watching the SGA student leadership vote unanimously in favor
of the resolution was a historic moment,” said Robin
Proudie, founder of DSLUE. “We are grateful and humbled
to have their support.” Encouraged by the recent outreach
from the university, Proudie continued, “It seems to be going in a
positive direction, but I believe it is well past time to resolve
this matter as it’s been almost five years since the university
first reached out to descendants." Proudie's great
grandmother, three times removed, Henrietta Mills, was one of many
Ancestors born into slavery at SLU.
Areva Martin, Esq., one of the lead attorneys
representing DSLUE, echoed, “The Student Government Association has
spoken and embraced this plan, which reflects significant effort
and consideration on the part of the descendants to champion not
only what is best for the descendants themselves but also Saint
Louis University and the community. The harm done in this
matter is multidimensional and the remedies must be as well, which
goes beyond scholarships and stipends.”
St. Louis University (SLU) has been confronting revelations from
the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project, which
first undertook an effort of investigation in 2016. The resulting
report, presented to SLUs Board of Trustees in 2019, revealed the
Jesuits forcibly relocated enslaved people from Maryland to
Missouri specifically to exploit their stolen labor and skills to
build and sustain SLU. The investigation uncovered the names and
experiences of specific individuals enslaved by the Jesuits from
1823 to 1865, and identified some of their descendants. The
research did not include a determination of the value of the unpaid
wages of the descendants’ ancestors or the economic value of their
forced contributions to the university. The attorneys representing
DSLUE engaged two of the nation's leading experts to develop a
first-of-its-kind valuation of the stolen wages. Dr. Thomas Craemer
and Dr. Julianne Malveaux used well-documented historical U.S. wage
data to calculate the economic benefit SLU has amassed from its
ownership of slaves. They estimate that the total lost wages
stemming from the unpaid wages of SLU’s slaves alone (not
accounting for lost freedom, lost investment opportunities, pain
and suffering or other factors) ranges from $361 million dollars at
a conservative three percent interest rate to well over $70 billion
dollars at a six percent interest rate.
Support for the specifics of the 10-point plan was echoed in a
letter to DSLUE from Adolphus M. Pruitt, II, President of St.
Louis City NAACP, who wrote that "these remedies support
reconciliation and healing and could serve as concrete steps to
address the legacy of slavery and its ongoing impacts; and can
serve as a model for other institutions seeking to confront their
own histories of exploitation and oppression."
This action from the SGA is in line with that of Georgetown
University students, who, in 2019 voted overwhelmingly for a
proposal to create a fund to help descendants of the enslaved
people sold by the school in 1838 to pay off debts - an effort that
helped spur a formalized reparations program at Georgetown.
"The University recently named a point of contact in the
President's office along with the SLU's new Vice President of
Special Projects, and these contacts have held two initial meetings
with the descendants and their representatives," said Martin.
"Although we've yet to receive a commitment from the school, we are
encouraged by their outreach and are hopeful they will honor their
mission and repair the harms done by quickly adopting this
plan."
BJ Coleman
Special Needs Network
abjcoleman@imageelevators.com