Loyola University Maryland Acknowledges Historical Ties to Slave Trade

A task force reveals direct financial link between the university's founding and the sale of enslaved people in 1838.

Loyola University Maryland has acknowledged its historical ties to the 19th-century sale of enslaved people, a transaction that also involved Georgetown University.
A task force at Loyola found evidence of a direct financial connection between the university's founding and the proceeds of the sale of 272 enslaved people in 1838.
From 1855 to 1860, Loyola Jesuits rented 'servants' who were likely enslaved, and the university likely benefited from the labor of an unidentified woman listed in an 1860 census as enslaved by the Order of the Jesuits in Baltimore.
The task force has made 10 recommendations for the university to reconcile with its history, including further research, a comprehensive retelling of the school's history, and making the campus more accessible to descendants of those who were sold.
Loyola's acknowledgment is part of a broader international reckoning with the role the slave trade played in higher education and its lasting impact, with more than 100 schools delving into their pasts through the Universities Studying Slavery consortium.