A new immersive exhibition centering descendants of 314 Black men, women and children sold by the Jesuits in 1838 is making its national debut at the University of St. Thomas. “What We Inherit: Truth, Repair, and a Promise to the Future” explores the history of Jesuit slaveholding and how that history was lost, rediscovered and reclaimed across generations.
Hosted at St. Thomas by the Racial Justice Initiative, the traveling exhibition is presented by the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. The exhibit is free and will be open to the public Oct. 5-Nov. 5 at the Iversen Center for Faith on the St. Paul campus.
Recounting the history of enslaved people sold by Jesuits in a sale that helped pay debts at what is now Georgetown University, the exhibit’s 28 panels feature archival records, historical photographs, interactive media, and testimony from both descendants and Jesuits. Visitors will be able to choose one of three ancestors to follow through the exhibit and will learn how descendants have worked to recover and reclaim their family histories.
“My ancestors in this exhibit were enslaved and sold by Jesuit priests,” said Monique Trusclair Maddox, president and CEO of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. “Because the world that enslavement helped build is the world we all live in, ‘What We Inherit’ isn’t a Black story or a Catholic story – it’s the story of our American inheritance.”
Dr. Yohuru Williams, distinguished university chair, professor of history and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at St. Thomas, said the exhibition goes beyond the sale itself to examine its aftermath and the work descendants and Jesuits are doing together today.
“You can't simply tell the story and leave it there,” Williams said. “You've got to deal with the ramifications. You've got to deal with what came after. This exhibit creates a powerful space for that encounter – one grounded in memory and truth, but ultimately directed toward dialogue, human dignity and the common good.”
The conversation will continue Nov. 2 with “Facing History: Memory, Reconciliation, and the Common Good,” part of the university's Finding Forward speaker series. Trusclair Maddox and Williams will discuss the legacies of the 314 enslaved people and how descendants and Jesuits are confronting that history and moving toward reconciliation. St. Thomas President Rob Vischer will moderate the discussion.
Father Timothy Kesicki, SJ, chair of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation Trust and former president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, will deliver opening remarks.
The Finding Forward event will take place from 7-8 p.m., Nov. 2, at the O'Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium on the St. Paul campus, with a reception to follow. A livestream option is available.
