Reparations Statement

The Descendants of Jesuit Enslavement Historical and Genealogical Society (DJEHGS) documents, preserves, and interprets the history of Jesuit enslavement. We create community by exploring genealogy and sharing the history through the lens of Descendants. DJEHGS also educates the public about those enslaved by Jesuit Priests and the significance of their contributions to the formation of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.

As an organization committed to the preservation, documentation, and education about this facet of slavery in the United States, and in solidarity with the NAACP, the National African-American Reparations Commission, and other organizations, economists, academicians, legal professionals, activists and more committed to the fight for reparations for the Descendants of the enslaved, the DJEHGS joins in the call for reparatory justice specifically for the African American Descendants of the Jesuit enslaved. In determining what form reparations should take, we call on the Roman Catholic Church to atone in the following ways:

• Acknowledge the harm and traumatic impact of chattel slavery and take proactive steps to publicly accept responsibility for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in it.

• Democratize information access by providing Descendants, academicians, and the broader public the ability to obtain, examine, and consume all documentation related to the church’s slaveholding activities.

• Expand educational opportunity and equity by funding programs that allow Descendants to access all manner of educational programming including but not limited to early interventions, Pre-K - 12, post-secondary education, and training programs at trade schools and technical institutes at the institution of their choice.

• Reduce the wealth gap entrenched by white supremacy by providing direct financial payments to Descendants of Jesuit enslavement; directly investing in small businesses owned and operated by Descendants or where a large percentage of descendants live; and funding financial services programs, home buying programs, and other community based programs.

• Reduce the health gap created by the trauma of slavery by funding community based programs that promote nutrition and healthy lifestyles and access to medical and mental health providers; funding HBCU medical, dental, and paramedical programming; and funding interventional studies for diseases where our community is most impacted.