IMPACT REPORT

FOR PERIOD ENDING AUGUST 31, 2025

.The Power of Forward Motion

This past year has been a season of growth, grace, and powerful momentum for the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation.

When we released our last impact report, we had just launched our education scholarship program — our first step toward fulfilling a generational promise. Today, I’m proud to say that we have now brought to life initiatives under each of our three pillars: education, elder support, and racial healing.

We launched a program to support our elders in aging with dignity because we believe those who held families together during segregation, and who built lives from limited opportunity, deserve care and peace in their later years.

We also proudly sponsored The Stories of Us, an extraordinary platform that leaned into the power of Descendant stories represented through art to truth-tell, heal, and create space for shared humanity.

Each of these milestones represents more than a program launch. They are sacred acts of repair showing that a different future is possible. They reflect our belief that reconciliation is not a single moment but a long walk of love, justice, and accountability.

As I reflect on the year behind us, I am filled with gratitude for the hearts that have joined us on this journey. We are still at the beginning. But what a powerful beginning it is.

This report will share the accomplishments of the last year — a year when we continued to walk toward the future with the names of our ancestors written on our hearts. I hope you will continue to join us on this journey and let your heart be inscribed with the same love and hope that guide us.

Monique Trusclair Maddox, President & CEO, Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation

Monique Trusclair Maddox, President & CEO, Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
- Angela Davis

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Impact:
A Moral Obligation

For the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, impact is a moral obligation. We exist to address the intergenerational harm caused by Jesuit enslavement and its enduring legacy, and that work is not just an idea. It must be visible, measurable, and felt in the lives of real people.

Descendants founded this organization to turn an unprecedented moment of reckoning into lasting repair. Our commitment to impact is guided by the lived experiences of Descendants and the deep responsibility of those who inherited institutional power from the past. It means creating opportunity where there was once only exclusion. It means offering care to those who were overlooked. And it means opening space for truth, healing, and accountability.

This year, we have seen our impact come to life in tangible ways, including through:

The Students We Have Supported

The Elders We Have Cared For

The People We Have Brought Together in Healing

PILLAR: EDUCATION

Opening Doors to Generational Opportunity

Why Education?

Education remains one of the most powerful tools we have to disrupt cycles of injustice. For Descendants of Jesuit slaveholding, access to higher education is more than a personal milestone — it is a step toward generational repair.

Through the DTRF Scholarship Program, in partnership with Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Foundation has awarded $445,046 in scholarships to 40 students across multiple institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other post-secondary programs.

The program provides students with need-based scholarships of up to $10,000 per year. It supports not only Descendants, but also their spouses and children — recognizing that educational equity must reach across generations and encompass whole families.

Our scholarship program affirms what this Foundation believes at its core: that the Descendants of those once denied opportunity should now be met with support, investment, and belief. Each award is more than financial aid — it is a symbol of progress, a commitment to human dignity, and a pathway to a future where every person is valued for their inherent worth.

Scholarship recipients are pursuing their educational dreams at institutions across the country.

$445,046 in scholarships awarded to 40 students across multiple institutions

SCHOLAR STORIES | NOLAN STEWART

Honoring Roots Through Scholarship

Whenever Nolan Stewart is pondering a life change, he calls his grandparents. So when the 24-year-old realized — toward the end of his Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology from Northern Michigan University — that he wanted to pivot his career path, he turned to them for advice.

“I always talk to them about my next steps in life. I let them know my sixth-month plan,” he says.

Nolan told them about his growing interest in independent lab work and the possibilities of a career in a medical laboratory, running the blood tests and other diagnostics that medical professionals rely on to treat patients. That’s when Nolan’s grandfather informed him that as a Descendant of Jesuit slaveholding, he would likely qualify for a scholarship to pursue the degree he’d need for this career. 

Nolan applied to the DTRF scholarship and received funding in Fall 2024, just as he started his Associate’s Degree in clinical laboratory science and began to live on his own for the first time. 

“The scholarship has taken a lot of financial stress off my chest. I chose an affordable in-state program, and the scholarship covered it. Because of this, I’ve been able to spend more time on school instead of working,” he says. 

Before receiving the scholarship, Nolan knew about his Descendant heritage. His lineage traces to Isaac Hawkins, the first name on the ship manifest when the Katherine Jackson slave ship set sail for Louisiana in 1838. His grandfather grew up in Louisiana before eventually moving to Michigan. Nolan even attended a GU272 family reunion as a child and visited the Louisiana plantation where his ancestors once labored.

As someone with a Black father and white mother, Nolan says connecting with his ancestry has been layered and complex. Listen below as he describes what learning about his background has meant to him.

Nolan Stewart, Descendant of Isaac Hawkins and DTRF scholarship recipient, shares what learning about his family history has meant to him.

Once he completes his degree and passes his board certification, Nolan plans to begin working in a hospital. He believes the scholarship came into his life right when he needed it most — and that the timing wasn’t coincidental.

“This support arrived just as I was facing a huge life change. It helped me create a new plan rooted in both my future and my past,” he says. “I view it as more than financial help. It’s a way to honor where I come from and build something better for future generations.”

SCHOLAR STORIES | PARIS STAFFORD

A Future Professor Gains a New Sense of Family

Growing up in a military family, Paris Stafford was used to starting over in new places. After spending her early years in Savannah, Georgia — steeped in the culture and flavors of her father’s Gullah roots — her family relocated to Northern Virginia outside of Washington, D.C. There, she found herself missing sweet tea, familiar traditions, and the deeper cultural ties that once surrounded her. When starting university at Penn State, a Predominately White Institution, she began taking African American history classes to find more of her people.

Around the same time Paris was exploring identity in the classroom, she also was learning more about the non-Gullah side of her family. Everything changed when her mother, a history and genealogy enthusiast, received a message on Ancestry. Listen to the story below.

DTRF scholarship recipient Paris Stafford shares how her mother's research helped them learn they are Descendants of Jesuit slaveholding.

As Paris’ mother dug deeper into this painful but powerful history, she kept Paris informed every step of the way. She also encouraged Paris to apply for the DTRF scholarship.

Now a sophomore, Paris is studying economics with a minor in African American studies. She’s particularly interested in how the financial system connects with history, and how slavery still has economic impacts to this day. Her ultimate goal is to become a college professor, and she hopes to bring these topics into her academic practice. The scholarship has helped her focus on her studies and taken a financial burden off of her and her family.

Paris’ mother continues to research their ancestry, and has gotten involved with the White Marsh Historical Society. She also has gone to Descendant events, including a family reunion in Louisiana. “My mom looks exactly like some of the other Descendants. I love how they all call each other 'cousin,'” Paris says.

Paris has followed her mother’s lead, recently attending the Dialogue On Race Louisiana event sponsored by the Foundation, where she was interested to learn the perspective of Jesuits. Beyond the scholarship, Paris feels like being part of the Descendant community has already had a lasting impact on her life. 

“It was hard to lose the Gullah culture when I left South Carolina and to try to meet people in the D.C. area," Paris says. "Now that I’m connected with the Descendants, I realize that my family is essentially everywhere."

PILLAR: ELDER SUPPORT

Honoring Those Who Carried Us

Why Elder Support?

A legacy of repair must include care for those who have spent a lifetime caring for others. Through the Aging with Dignity program, the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation is doing just that.

In partnership with Rosarium Health, the Foundation is enabling Descendants ages 55 and older to age safely and with dignity in familiar settings. This initiative helps address a critical but often overlooked need: ensuring that elders can remain in their homes, connected to their communities, rooted in their histories, and surrounded by the lives they’ve built.

Piloted in Louisiana and Texas, this program provides home modifications tailored to the unique needs of each participant. Licensed contractors and clinically trained home assessors — who hold advanced degrees in physical or occupational therapy — coordinate improvements such as accessible ramps, grab bars, widened doorways, and bathroom modifications. Additional services may include weatherization and pest control. Upcoming locations include Baltimore, Maryland; Natchez, Mississippi; and Cleveland, Ohio.

As we expand this program to reach more Descendants in the years ahead, we remain committed to a simple but powerful belief: No one should have to leave their home to feel safe in it.

ELDER STORIES | LILLIAN PERRY

Aging with Dignity in Maringouin

Lillian Perry has lived in Maringouin, Louisiana, for more than a century. At 102 years old, she still rises each day in the town where she spent decades raising children, welcoming neighbors, and building a life.

These days, she is cared for by the very family she once cared for. Her children live close by and visit often, surrounding her with love, familiarity, and the rhythms of home. But even with that care, her house had begun to work against her. Simple acts — like stepping out the side door with its two steps down — had become difficult, and even risky. But she didn't need or want relocation.

As one of the pilot participants in the Foundation’s Aging with Dignity program, Mrs. Perry is an example of the difference the program can make. In partnership with Rosarium Health, the Foundation made simple but life-changing modifications: Grab bars were installed throughout the home to stabilize her steps, and a sturdy railing now lines the front stairs she uses to greet the world.

"The bars in the bathroom are really nice and the other family members who come visit will benefit from it as well. We are happy we got those railings outside because she was never able to go out that way."
Delores, Lillian's Daughter

These are small interventions, but their impact is significant. They allow Mrs. Perry to safely remain in her home and stay connected to her family, her neighbors, and the legacy she continues to shape simply by living.

ELDER STORIES | IRENE MOORE

Aging with Dignity in Dallas

When Irene Moore learned about the Foundation's Aging with Dignity program, she didn't hesitate. As an elderly Descendant living in Dallas, she was proud of her independence but aware that her home, while beloved, presented real safety risks. Like many older adults, she worried about the possibility of falling.

Through the program, Mrs. Moore received a home visit from Rosarium Health, the Foundation's partner organization specializing in aging-in-place assessments. Their team carefully evaluated her space and recommended several modifications to reduce fall risk. The most meaningful upgrade was a series of grab bars and railings strategically placed throughout her home.

"Thank you so much. This came just in time, and I am very happy."
Irene Moore, Aging with Dignity Program Participant

Now, with these changes in place, Mrs. Moore can move through her home with greater confidence and ease. Her family feels a renewed sense of peace knowing she’s safer — and Mrs. Moore, a steady presence in her community, can continue living in the place she loves.

PILLAR: RACIAL HEALING

From Reckoning to Reconnection

Why Racial Healing?

In recent years, the United States has seen a growing awareness of the legacy of slavery and its enduring impact on our society. In the wake of that collective reckoning, many institutions began taking meaningful steps toward acknowledging harm and investing in racial equity.

But progress is rarely linear. Today, that work faces increasing resistance. Truth-telling has become controversial, and repair has been politicized. But the need for healing has never been greater.

This is where the Foundation’s third pillar — Racial Healing — takes root. While dialogue is a vital step on the road to racial healing, it is primarily about connection and proximity: between Descendants and Jesuits, between people and places, between history and the future we want to create together.

Healing happens when people share stories in spaces built for honesty. We enable Descendants to speak about their lived experiences aloud, sometimes for the first time in a room full of listeners who are ready to receive them. When Jesuits sit in these curated spaces, they do not defend or debate — they listen, learn, and reckon with the legacy they’ve inherited. From that practice, understanding deepens, relationships form, and accountability becomes personal. Most important, the distance between Descendants and Jesuits — once defined by silence — begins to close.

Healing also happens when we invest in the systems and structures that shape daily life. That's why our work under this pillar may sometimes reach beyond those originally harmed, and that is by design. Our programs might take the form of rebuilding a community asset, repairing infrastructure, or supporting programs that benefit entire neighborhoods — because that’s what it takes to restore the environments where Descendants live, work, and carry forward their legacies. If others benefit in the process, that’s not a compromise. Instead, it illustrates the point that we are all one human family and can only rise when we all rise.

HEALING STORIES | DIALOGUE ON RACE

Where Healing Begins Together

The Dialogue on Race program is a groundbreaking initiative that brings Descendants and Jesuits together to confront the shared legacy of Jesuit slaveholding and to build relationships grounded in honesty. Through facilitated conversations, guided reflections, and deep listening, participants engage not only in telling the truth but also in receiving it. The first event, an in-person session over a weekend in the DTRF offices in Baton Rouge, took place in June 2025 and brought together seven Descendants and seven Jesuits. Four subsequent sessions convened online through the month of July.

Developed in collaboration with Dialogue on Race Louisiana, the program is rooted in a model that centers honest dialogue as a tool for transformation. Participants explore the historical construction of race, the meaning of whiteness and power, and the ways that policy, language, and silence have sustained racial inequity. But they also move toward something more intimate: personal connection that transcends the lines drawn by history.

Amani Ginn, alongside her mother Ayanna Ginn, speaks at the first gathering of their cohort for the Dialogue on Race Louisiana program, sponsored by the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. The program brought together seven Descendants and seven Jesuits two groups on the opposite side of a shared and painful past to engage in an environment for open and honest discussion that aims to eliminate racism through education, action, and transformation. Here, Amani shares her thoughts on the power of conversation to heal the wounds of racism.

Over the course of the initial in-person convening, Descendants recounted their lived experiences — in some cases, to Jesuits who had never heard stories like these spoken aloud. Jesuits listened, reflected, and began to reckon with what it means to inherit a legacy of violence and exploitation.

Scott McKillip, S.J., at the first gathering of his cohort for the Dialogue on Race Louisiana program, shares his hopes that this program experience will lead other Jesuits and Catholics to follow the Foundation's model.

The sessions were powerful, but healing also happened in the spaces in between — in shared car rides from the airport, in walking through Baton Rouge side by side, in lingering over meals and sharing laughs. These moments of everyday connection are essential because they afforded each member of the group the chance to see one another as full human beings. Alongside structured dialogue, these unguarded, ordinary moments enable trust to take root and reconciliation to turn from concept to reality.

Together, these experiences write a new chapter grounded not in avoidance or guilt, but in courage, proximity, and shared commitment. This program is one expression of the Foundation’s racial healing pillar: a sacred space where truth-telling and system-changing meet. It reminds us that the path forward is not only through policy or programs, but through people. And that healing, when nurtured in community, can become a force that transforms generations.

HEALING STORIES | THE STORIES OF US

The Power of Art to Heal

As the first grantee under the Foundation’s racial healing pillar, The Stories of Us (TSOU) is a national civic imagination nonprofit that exists to inspire a culture of storytelling, exploring the two ideals at the core of the Declaration of Independence: equality and solidarity. The organization exemplifies how truth-telling and artistic expression can converge to create powerful, public moments of reckoning and reconnection.

TSOU has created an art exhibition that travels from city to city, growing in scale with each stop. It features large-scale drum sculptures — called "talking drums" — on which artist paintings explore the tension between America’s founding ideals and its origins in slavery. As part of DTRF's sponsorship, TSOU engaged a New Orleans-based artist, Ashley Teamer, to speak with Descendants and tell their story in a new medium. As the sculptures travel from city to city, the project invites audiences to confront the lived legacies of enslavement in a deeply human, visual form.

Left: Descendant and DTRF board member Cheryllyn Branche stands alongside a painted "talking drum" representing the stories of Descendants, painted by artist and New Orleans native Ashley Teamer. Right: The drum features powerful visual themes of ancestors' lives, including this cross juxtaposed as a farming hoe, alluding to the Catholic Church's dual legacy of spiritual authority and slaveholding.

The Descendant-inspired drum, designed by acclaimed visual artist Ashley Teamer, features powerful images evocative of ancestors' experiences. Overlapping profiles of Descendants evoke generational memory, while the tender image of a baby in utero represents the vulnerability of enslaved children and the commodification of motherhood. One image juxtaposes a cross with a farming hoe, challenging viewers to reckon with the Catholic Church’s dual legacy of spiritual authority and slaveholding.

“Just as we all look back, we will all be looked back on — and people will look back on what we do by our art. I’m grateful to the artist for listening to Descendant experiences and capturing the complications and contradictions of our country’s history in a way that will stand the test of time.”
- Melisande Short-Colomb, Descendant interviewed for The Stories of Us project

The exhibition debuted in Armstrong Park in New Orleans on Juneteenth with a press conference and ribbon cutting ceremony featuring artists and Frederick Delahoussaye, Director of the New Orleans Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy. The Foundation was represented by the powerful words of Descendant and DTRF board member Cheryllyn Branche.

On Juneteenth 2025, Descendant and DTRF Board Member Cheryllyn Branche spoke at a press conference and ribbon cutting of The Stories of Us art exhibition in New Orleans. Cheryllyn represented Descendants of Jesuit slaveholding, whose stories were reflected in a "talking drum" sculpture painted by local artist Ashley Teamer.

Left to right: Cheryl Dunn, Operations Manager, DTRF; Alana Harris, Deputy Director of Arts and Culture, New Orleans Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy; Frederick "Wood" Delahoussaye, Director of the New Orleans Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy; Cheryllyn Branche, Descendant and DTRF Board Member; Sydnee West, Descendant; Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye, Founder, The Stories of Us; Monique Lorden, Visual Artist; Annie Moran, Visual Artist; Ashley Vaughn, Program Manager, DTRF.

The Juneteenth event invited the public into a dialogue not just with history, but with themselves. Individuals stopped, read the descriptions, took photos, and spoke to us about the feelings it stirred in them.

Ron Bechet, Labat Professor of Art at Xavier University of Louisiana, visited Armstrong Park on Juneteenth 2025 where Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation and The Stories of Us unveiled 10 sculptures. Here, after observing the "talking drums," he shares his thoughts on the power of art to inspire us to act in the here and now.

Maya Peterson shares her thoughts on the exhibition from The Stories of Us and the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, in particular artist Ashley Teamer's "talking drum" depicting the stories of Descendants and the lives of Ancestors.

The TSOU exhibition started its tour in Detroit before appearing at the United Nations in New York, then traveled to Cleveland and New Orleans. A few weeks later, the drums were featured at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, where DTRF President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox appeared on a panel with TSOU Founder Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye and artist Monique Lorden. The exhibition will arrive in more cities including Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., in the coming year, each time offering a public invitation to engage with truth, history, and healing.

Monique Trusclair Maddox addresses an audience at ESSENCE Fest. Left to right: Melissa Noel, journalist and moderator; Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye, Founder, The Stories of Us; Monique Trusclair Maddox, President & CEO, DTRF; Monique Lorden, visual artist.

The audience at ESSENCE Fest listens to panelists discuss the power of art to heal.

Monique Trusclair Maddox guides a tour of the painted drum created by local artist Ashley Teamer based on the memories and experiences of Descendants.

Attendees of ESSENCE Fest line up to attend a panel about the Foundation's collaboration with The Stories of Us and the power of art to heal.

Collaborations like these affirm that racial healing requires more than policy. It requires proximity, imagination, and collective reflection. Art — especially art rooted in lived experience — can open hearts and move people in profound ways. In lifting the voices of Descendants through this work, we create space for these stories to be not just known but felt — and in doing so, make them harder to look away from.

"The Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation racial healing grant allowed us to support five outstanding New Orleans-based artists to each create a sculpture as part of our national collection. Additionally, DTRF supported TSOU by helping to publicize the work, thereby expanding the audience that engaged with it. Our collaboration with DTRF, and its leadership, will have a lasting impact on TSOU as we continue to catalyze dialogue, belonging, racial healing, and civic imagination through public art."
- Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye, Founder, The Stories of Us

A Space that Speaks

The Foundation’s headquarters was never meant to feel like just a 9-to-5 office.

It was designed as a place of memory and meaning where the past is honored, the present is acknowledged, and the future is being shaped.

Wall of Names

From the moment you walk in, the tone is set by the Wall of Names — a striking, solemn installation listing the name of every man, woman, and child recorded on the 1838 bill of sale.

For many visitors, this wall becomes an emotional anchor. It is not uncommon to see Descendants pausing, pointing, their fingers tracing the tactile letters. Those moments link a name on a wall to a beating heart in the room, when both Descendant and Ancestor are seen and the distance and time between them briefly disappear.

Timeline of Truth

A timeline stretching from 1634 to the present runs the length of the common area, placing the Foundation’s mission within the broader arc of history — from colonization and sale, to reckoning and reconciliation.

A Call to Action

A towering quote from James Baldwin reminds visitors that “nothing can be changed until it is faced,” pushing them to understand that a better world requires the truth-telling of us all.

Art in Honor

Custom art pieces in the offices impose silhouettes over names of Ancestors handwritten by their enslavers nearly 200 years ago.

This is not a static space. It holds joy and sorrow in equal measure, inviting visitors to witness, reflect, and ask what their place might be in the long story of truth and reconciliation.

In the series of looping images below, two Descendants individually react to the Wall of Names before realizing they share a common Ancestor.

Certification
that Builds the Movement

In 2025, the Foundation launched an in-house certification process to identify and certify Descendants — an approach that has significantly increased both speed and impact. Between June and August alone, the Foundation certified 40 new Descendants, growing our certified group tenfold.

With this system in place, certification becomes more than a step in the process; it becomes an opportunity to connect and build momentum. At the time of certification, the Foundation can immediately welcome Descendants, offer services, and learn about other family members who also are often eligible for services.

This approach enables the Foundation to instantly meet the needs of Descendants across generations, deepening our effectiveness. For example, immediately after the Foundation certified Descendant Zadier Thomas in Summer 2025, the now-routine process of inquiring about other family members led to the discovery that Zadier's son, Avery, would benefit from the scholarship program while her mother, Ernestine Weir Thomas, was an ideal candidate for the Aging with Dignity program. We can also take appropriate action on other information Descendants choose to share, such as DTRF volunteer opportunities, public resources available through Descendant work experiences, and programming needs for other family members. Previously, this depth of knowledge was not readily accessible by the Foundation.

By aligning certification with engagement, the Foundation ensures that moments of discovery become moments of activation — strengthening relationships with those we serve and advancing the mission in real time.

Strategically Building Recognition

The Foundation is growing its presence with intention — strategically showing up in rooms, on stages, and in communities where truth and reconciliation must be part of the conversation. Through public talks, global gatherings, new alliances, and media coverage, our goal is to ensure that our work is seen as a model for institutions of all kinds to address their complex legacies. As a result, we are bringing new partners, donors, and advocates into the fold.

Appearances and Speaking Engagements

The Foundation’s leadership travels across the country and around the world to speak, listen, and build relationships that strengthen and push forward the Foundation's mission. Whether presenting at universities, engaging with faith communities, or meeting with global partners, this work expands the conversation and grows a network of allies committed to truth, racial healing, and transformation.

Helping the Church of England Face its Role in African Chattel Slavery

Over the last year, the Foundation deepened its relationship with the Church of England. The collaboration had begun earlier in the year when President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox and Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Trust Chair Fr. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., met with the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell in New York. In September 2024, they traveled to the UK at the invitation of the Archbishop of York, meeting with the College of Bishops to share the approach of the Foundation as a model of racial healing through unity. View the Church's video below.

Touring the West Coast

In the Fall of 2024, President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox, Trust Chair Fr. Timothy Kesicki, Board Member Fr. Scott Santarosa, and Board Member and Descendant Kat Albrandt undertook a tour of the West Coast, taking the message to Jesuit institutions in San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Berkeley, and Spokane.

Left: Monique Trusclair Maddox presents to a group at Loyola Marymount University. Right: Fr. Scott Santarosa, DTRF Board Member, speaks on a panel with Descendant and DTRF Board Member Kat Albrandt, Monique Trusclair Maddox and Fr. Tim Kesicki.

Inviting Catholics to Take up the Mantle

In October 2024, President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox and Trust Chair Fr. Timothy Kesicki traveled to Minneapolis-St. Paul at the invitation of Ignatian Volunteer Corps Twin Cities. They presented to an audience at St. Catherine University, followed by an evening presentation at the Church of St. Thomas More moderated by Archbishop Bernard Hebda.

In front of a room full of Catholics, Monique Trusclair Maddox shared the story of how she learned she is a Descendant and the quiet crisis of faith it sparked, challenging everything she thought she knew about her family, her Church, and her own place in history.

Monique Trusclair Maddox before an audience of Catholics in St. Paul tells how she learned the story of her family's history and walked through this shocking discovery with faith as her guide.

Fr. Tim Kesicki shares lesser-known parts of the history from a Jesuit perspective, telling Catholics they have a moral responsibility to confront, head on, the harm caused by their Church and take active steps toward reconciliation.

Additional Speaking Engagements

Over the last year, Foundation leaders have traversed the globe, speaking to audiences at universities such as University of St. Thomas, Fordham University, Loyola University Chicago, and more.

Media Coverage

The Foundation has consistently drawn the attention of media who seek to tell the powerful story of its mission and impact. This year's most memorable pieces include long-form stories in both The Guardian and USA Today — both publications with enormous readership.

Juneteenth Ribbon Cutting for The Stories of Us

In addition, the Foundation's sponsorship of The Stories of Us and the Juneteenth ribbon cutting in New Orleans attracted numerous news cameras and reporters. Below are some of the day's coverage highlights.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

Statement of Financial Impact

PROGRAM AWARDS

Truth Racial Healing Transformation

$270,005

Educational Aspirations

$458,046

Elderly and Infirm

$7,735

TOTAL Program Awards

$735,786

© 2025 The Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced without permission.

Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation
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www.descendants.org