Jesuits, Georgetown Give $27M to Fund for Descendants of Enslaved People

Georgetown University (DC) and the Jesuits have given $27 million to benefit a foundation helping descendants of enslaved people who were sold to pay off a debt at the school in the 19th century. The gift is a milestone in an ambitious plan to raise $100 million, and ultimately $1 billion, for the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. The private nonprofit organization partnered with the Society of Jesus and the GU272 Descendants Association, which formed in 2016 after the university announced it would apologize for its role in the slave trade.