Georgetown to Give Admissions Edge to Slave Descendants

In an effort to make amends for its past of profiting from the sale of slaves, Georgetown University says it will offer special admissions benefits to the descendants of slaves from whom the university benefited in the nineteenth century. The New York Times reports University President John J. DeGioia will announce in a speech Thursday the creation of an institute at the private Jesuit college to study slavery and will formally apologize on behalf of the school. The Times says the admissions benefits will be similar to those offered to family members of alumni. In 1838, the university used $3.3 million from the sale of the 272 slaves to pay down its debt.