Georgetown University will treat descendants of 272 slaves in the school’s past as they would treat legacy applicants in the admissions process, the university announced Thursday as one in a series of steps it will take to address its associations with slavery.
The Jesuits who founded Georgetown sold 272 slaves in 1838 and used the proceeds to pay off the university’s debts.
Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia announced the measures in response to a report from the school’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation, which DeGioia convened in 2015 to examine Georgetown’s association with slavery, and how it should respond now.
The descendants of those 272 people have been involved with the working group in the last year, and the university today said they will get the preferential admissions status that descendants or siblings of other Georgetown students and alumni currently have.