Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation
Annual Report
August 15, 2023 – August 14, 2024
A Year of Rapid Progress
For the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, 2023 was a year of progress and milestones. An idea that began with an earth-shattering discovery in 2016 has today grown into an instrument of change and progress in the lives of individual Descendants and a force for peace in the world at large.
In 2023, I stepped into the role of Board Chair and CEO of the Foundation. The work has been exhilarating. As a business professional with a long career in leading technology projects, I was ready for the complexity of this work. As an entrepreneur, I was eager to help grow an organization through its startup mode. As a business leader, I was excited for the challenge of managing the many people and groups who have a stake in this important work.
And as a Descendant, I felt called to deliver on the vision that guides the Foundation: to create a world in which the false ideology of a hierarchy of human value rooted in "pigmentation supremacy” no longer exists.
With support from JPMorgan Chase, we have spent the past year building out our infrastructure, operationalizing our work through processes and procedures, creating global alliances, and launching our first programs.
Even as our focus tightens on our goals, we have broadened our lens and our message to make clear that our organization is for all Descendants of Jesuit slaveholding, not only those who hail from the 1838 event. Our sister organization, the GU272 Descendants Association, is similarly broadening its reach and undergoing a rebranding and renaming to reflect that.
We've accomplished remarkable things since this organization's inception, and our near-term plans will lead to even greater impact — not just in the United States but globally as well.
We know we have chosen a route to reconciliation that has never been walked before, so there is no well-trodden path to guide us. But we know our destination, and the commitment that lies within our hearts acts as our compass. And so we climb.
This report will share the accomplishments of the last year. But before one can fully value those accomplishments, one must understand where our story began, 400 years ago.
Monique Trusclair Maddox, President & CEO, Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation
Monique Trusclair Maddox, President & CEO, Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation
THE FOUNDATION
A brief timeline 1634 – present
1634
Jesuits come to the colonies and begin establishing a stronghold. The first documented instance of Jesuits owning slaves is in 1711, although they held people enslaved in the Americas much earlier.
1838
Jesuits sell more than 272 men, women and children to prop up the finances of Georgetown University and expand the Jesuit mission in America.
1853 & 1856
Many of the 272 are resold to other plantations in the South, having been held as collateral by Citizens Bank, later acquired by JPMorgan Chase. While the 1838 sale was the second-largest sale of humans in history, the story eventually fades from public awareness.
2015
An awareness and reckoning of the Jesuits’ slaveholding past starts to grow at Georgetown
University.
April 2016
On April, 16, 2016, The New York Times publishes a story about the Jesuits' slaveholding history. As the story is thrust into the public eye, hundreds of living Descendants learn a shocking truth about their family history for the first time.
September 2016
At a convening at Georgetown University, a group of Descendants take the stage with university President Jack DiGioia and demand a Descendant-led path forward: "Nothing about us without us."
April 2017
Jesuits and Georgetown officially apologize to Descendants for their sin against God.
A group of Descendants formally petition Superior General Arturo Sosa to send Jesuit visitors to the United States to take actions to mitigate the lingering impact of slavery. Father Sosa acknowledges the Jesuits committed a "sin against God and a betrayal of the human dignity of your ancestors."
September 2019
Descendants and Jesuits sign a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Trust.
January 2020
Using a grant from Georgetown University, the Foundation hires an implementation manager to lead the next phase.
July 2020
The formation of the Trust and Foundation are
complete, and the 13-member Board of Trustees of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation
Foundation holds its inaugural meeting.
December 2020
The Jesuit Conference retains an international fundraising consulting firm to assist with capitalizing the Trust.
March 2021
The Foundation enters its public phase with an exclusive New York Times article about the 1838 sale and the formation of the Foundation.
April 2023
The Board votes to move the Foundation into the operational phase, enabling the start of programming.
August 2023
The JPMorgan Chase Foundation awards the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation with a $2.5 million grant for general operating support.
January 2024
The Foundation finalizes key hires, such as President & CEO, and Program Manager.
January 2024
The Foundation launches its first program: a scholarship initiative in partnership with Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The Story of Descendants
Out of discovery, a mission is born
The Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation launched in the early months of 2021. But its roots extend 400 years into the soil of the past.
The facts of the history are clear, thanks to rigorous recordkeeping by Jesuits. In 1634, Jesuits arrived in North America at the invitation of Lord Baltimore and with the blessing of King Charles I. The Jesuits who came to America sought shores where they could be free of the persecution they faced in Europe. By the early 1700s, Jesuits had become the oppressors. They were active slaveholders, relying on free labor to tend their revenue-producing plantations and justifying slavery as a means to "save the souls" of those in the New World.
In 1838, Jesuits sold more than 272 enslaved souls to financially benefit the country’s first Jesuit educational ministry, Georgetown University. These enslaved individuals — women, men, children and infants — were sold to plantation owners in southern Louisiana. At the time of the sale, Citizens Bank of New Orleans, later acquired by JPMorgan Chase, used some of those humans as collateral.
Many families were torn apart and subject to the cruelest treatment. Some spent their entire lives as chattel. Meanwhile, Jesuits continued to own or rent slaves until 1864.
This past gradually faded from public memory until 2016, when The New York Times published a story that resurfaced the history from the Jesuit archives.
The April 16, 2016, New York Times story that told of the Jesuits' slaveholding past. This story was the first time many Descendants heard their ancestors had been enslaved by the Church.
The April 16, 2016, New York Times story that told of the Jesuits' slaveholding past. This story was the first time many Descendants heard their ancestors had been enslaved by the Church.
Over the years that followed, many Descendants struggled to process the weight of what they had learned not only of their own families but of their own church and faith. A core group determined the best path forward would be to engage with Jesuits in a commitment to invest in current and future generations of Descendants — and a commitment to work to eradicate the racism that is slavery's legacy.
"My grandfather was 3 years old when he was sold. If you look at a 3-year-old child surviving in Louisiana back then — the mosquitos, the heat, the snakes, the alligators, the grass that cuts like a knife — there is no amount of money anybody could give me to make that right."
In 2019, the Descendants and Jesuits established the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation as the path forward, representing a unique and unprecedented partnership between the Descendants of enslaved people and the successors of their enslavers. The Jesuits and Descendants committed to a $1 billion vision, and the Jesuits pledged to raise the first $100 million from their networks to capitalize the Trust.
Descendant Earl Williams, Descendant Cheryllyn Branche, Fr. General Arturo Sosa, Foundation Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Trust Board Chair Fr. Tim Kesicki.
Descendant Earl Williams, Descendant Cheryllyn Branche, Fr. General Arturo Sosa, Foundation Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Trust Board Chair Fr. Tim Kesicki.
In early 2021, the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation launched its public phase by announcing its formation in an exclusive story in The New York Times. An additional 230 stories, national and international, followed.
A March 15, 2021, New York Times story announced the formation of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation.
A March 15, 2021, New York Times story announced the formation of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation.
The real work — and the quest for true reconciliation and joint healing — had begun.
“This is an opportunity for Jesuits to begin a very serious process of truth and reconciliation. Our shameful history of Jesuit slaveholding in the United States has been taken off the dusty shelf, and it can never be put back.”
More than
10,000
people have descended from Jesuit slaveholding.
That number grows every day.
Implementation
Building infrastructure for a self-sustaining pursuit of truth
Soon after the Foundation moved into the public phase and announced its formation, it engaged key services to help map a plan for the near-term future. The first and most important aspect of this plan revolved around retaining the necessary staff to operationalize the Foundation.
JPMorgan Chase Virtual Service Corps (VSC) and PYXERA Global built out an operational structure that addressed key hiring needs. On the communications side, CCS Communications was engaged to build a case statement for fundraising, and Rise Strategy Group was engaged to support all other comms and media relations needs.
Once key plans were developed and approved by the board, the Foundation moved into the implementation phase. The primary goal of this phase was to recruit, train and retain the most qualified candidates available to operationalize the Foundation's vision.
Staffing
The VSC plan called for building a core team that could establish operational capacity, set strategy and begin executing meaningful grants and impactful programs. These actions would enable the Foundation to focus on sustaining its long-term growth while ensuring that distributions from the Trust support essential programs.
The initial staffing plan focused on hiring roles to oversee grant operations and governance.
The Foundation mapped a plan to hire a permanent Executive Director (or President/CEO) who would finalize the Foundation’s early strategy in partnership with the Board of Trustees.
A key hire to support the management team was an Executive Assistant.
A Vice President of Programs was deemed critical for conducting a needs assessment landscape to finalize grantmaking priorities; define methods and outcomes; as well as refine and execute the Foundation’s grantmaking strategy.
Key functions, such as financial services, legal services, human resources and public relations, were identified as appropriate for outsourcing.
The Foundation has since acted on VSC's recommendations and closely followed its staffing road map. In 2023, the Foundation interviewed HR firms and selected Catapult Employers Association to:
- Develop a recruitment strategy and plan
- Perform compensation market analyses
- Create job descriptions
The first key hire was a permanent President & CEO.
President & CEO
After a competitive executive search, Monique Trusclair Maddox was named President & CEO in January 2024. Monique brings decades of experience as a business leader driving complex projects forward. In addition, she is a fifth- and sixth-generation granddaughter of Isaac Hawkins and a fourth-generation granddaughter of Nace Butler, both of whom were part of the 1838 transaction.
Executive Assistant
This position remains open in a competive market.
Program Manager
After a rigorous search and interview process, Ashley Vaughn was selected as Program Manager. Ashley has over 10 years of experience driving innovation, developing effective strategies, managing projects and improving processes.
Operations Manager
Cheryl L. Dunn was selected as Operations Manager. Cheryl brings with her a wealth of clerical and administrative experience, as well as a passion for the transformative pursuit of justice and equality.
Outsourced Services
The firm Donald Ford CPA LLC was retained to perform outsourced financial reporting and tax functions. Other outsourced functions include:
- Mayer Brown, providing legal support
- Highflyer Payroll, providing payroll services
- Bruno & Tervalon LLP, providing external independent audit services
- Catapult Employers Association, which supports all HR functions
- Rise Strategy Group, which provides all communications services
Infrastructure Setup
Once key staff was in place, the Foundation began the process of establishing the physical and digital infrastructure needed for operations. This included setting up business systems, such as IT.
The Foundation procured office space within the II Rivermark Centre in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a modern structure in a convenient and walkable part of the city. The office contains adequate capacity to support staffing needs well into the future, including individual offices, a conference room, a break room/kitchen and a large, open reception area for guests. "Living wall" displays will bring to life the Foundation's history as well as Descendants of the past and present.
The II Rivermark Centre in downtown Baton Rouge, where Foundation headquarters is located.
The II Rivermark Centre in downtown Baton Rouge, where Foundation headquarters is located.
Trust Chair Fr. Tim Kesicki, Foundation President and CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox, Foundation Board Trustee and W.K. Kellogg Foundation President and CEO LaJune Montgomery Tabron, and Foundation Co-Founder Joseph Stewart in the new Baton Rouge headquarters of the Foundation.
Trust Chair Fr. Tim Kesicki, Foundation President and CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox, Foundation Board Trustee and W.K. Kellogg Foundation President and CEO LaJune Montgomery Tabron, and Foundation Co-Founder Joseph Stewart in the new Baton Rouge headquarters of the Foundation.
The Foundation selected Microsoft as its collaboration platform provider and provisioned laptops and other necessary technology equipment for employees. Crucially, the Foundation secured a cybersecurity insurance policy.
Office furniture was also procured and set up, and the Foundation commissioned the creation of official letterhead and envelopes for sending official business via mail.
Employee Support
Critically, the Foundation completed two-way integration of the JPMorgan 401(k) plan with Highflyer HR payroll and added ERISA bond insurance for 401(k) coverage. In addition, medical insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana was added to support the health and welfare of employees. Alliant Insurance Services Inc. served as our partner in securing this plan.
Policies and Governance
The Foundation provided needed updates to its bylaws, operations manuals, employee manuals and financial policies to support the training and integration of new staff. The Foundation held its first in-person board meeting and board retreat, and it has created Finance, Board Governance, Grants, Strategic Planning, and Executive committees to assure best practices are implemented and adhered to for proper governance.
Strategic Planning
With key staff in place, project planning and timeline setting began with a goal to launch the Foundation's first program supporting the educational aspirations of Descendants. The first strategic planning session will take place in September 2024.
Spreading the Word
Speaking engagements raise awareness and garner support
Through extensive speaking engagements, the Foundation's leaders have increased awareness of the Descendants' history and the organization's mission. They have spoken on the critical need to mitigate the lingering damage of slavery, as well as extraordinary social, economic and political risks of failing to do so. Speaking engagements have been a key aspect of the Trust's fundraising campaign, connecting audiences to the uniquely compelling stories of Descendants.
2021
- Social Venture Partners of Dallas, presented by DTRF Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- "Our DNA," presented to W.K. Kellogg Foundation staff by Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Black History Month, Descendants Cheryllyn Branche and Danielle Harrison presented at Loyola Marymount University
- About DTRF, DTRF Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki presented to Social Venture Partners Dallas
- "Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life," presented at Georgetown University by DTRF Co-Founder Joseph Stewart, Descendant Cheryllyn Branche, Georgetown's Joseph Ferrara and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Universities Studying Slavery Conference, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart, Fr. Tim Kesicki and Georgetown's Joseph Ferrara
- St. Jude Parish Pittsburgh, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Jesuit Friends & Alumni Network, Detroit, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki
2022
- Loyola High School donor dinner and presentation, Los Angeles, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart, Fr. Tim Kesicki and Fr. Scott Santarosa
- Crafting Democratic Futures Conference, Georgetown University, presented by Joseph Stewart, Fr. Tim Kesicki, and Georgetown's Joseph Ferrara
- Brophy College Prep, presented to faculty and guests by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Xavier High School, New York, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network, Detroit, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Presentation to advancement staffs at Loyola University Chicago, Loyola Academy, Saint Ignatius College Preparatory School, Cristo Rey High School, Christ the King High School, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Presentation to advancement staffs at Loyola Marymount University, Loyola High School, Verbum Dei High School, Home Boys Inc., Dolores Mission Los Angeles, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and Fr. Tim Kesicki and Fr. Scott Santarosa
- Georgetown University, presentation to senior staff, presented by Fr. Tim Kesicki
2023
- Presentation to representatives from Saint Joseph University, Saint Joseph Preparatory School and Gesu School, Philadelphia, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart, Fr. Tim Kesicki and Fr. Scott Santarosa
- Saint Matthew Cathedral, Washington, D.C., presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart, Fr. Tim Kesicki and Fr. Scott Santarosa
- AASRT, Las Vegas, presented by Co-Founder Joseph Stewart, Fr. Tim Kesicki and Fr. Scott Santarosa
- Gesu Church, Detroit, presented by Fr. Tim Kesicki
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation "Global Leadership Summit," Johannesburg, South Africa, presentation as member of Solidarity Council on Racial Equity
- National Catholic Conference on Restorative Justice, Catholic Mobilizing Network, presented by President Monique Trusclair Maddox
- CROSS Conference, St. Louis, presented by Fr. Tim Kescki
- Ignatian Family Teach In for Justice, keynote address, presented by President Monique Trusclair Maddox
- Jesuit Heritage Month presentation, Georgetown University, Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, New York, panel discussion with Gloria Purvis, presented by President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Cassasa Lecture on Social Values, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, presented by Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Address to Board of Regents and Louisiana State Board of Elementary & Secondary Education, presented by President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Midwest Jesuits in Formation, presented by President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox
2024
- “Navigating the Storms of Slavery,” Louisiana State University, presented by President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Meeting with the Archbishop of York and representatives from the Church of England, attended by President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox and Fr. Tim Kesicki
- Catholic Racial Justice Coalition panel, presented by President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox
- The BasiliCast (Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis) podcast, featuring President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox
- African American Leadership Forum, presented by President & CEO Monque Trusclair Maddox
- "Assembly 2024: Creation of a Hope-filled Future," Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities Conference, attended by President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox, by invitation of Loyola University Maryland
- Sisters with Ventures, featuring President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox
Taking the Message Global
One of the most impactful engagements of the last year has been the growing relationship between the Foundation and the Church of England's Archbishop of York. Church Commissioners of the Church of England learned of the Foundation's work in 2020 and had been observing the Foundation's progress. Given the Church of England's history of profiting from the Transatlantic slave trade, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell has made racial justice a priority. In an effort to to learn from the Foundation's work as a model of racial healing and providing a faith-filled response to a tragic history, the Archbishop visited the United States in spring 2024 and met with leaders of the Foundation.
The growing relationship between the Foundation and the Church of England is opening pathways to further the Foundation's mission globally. In September 2024, Foundation leadership will travel to the United Kingdom to meet with the Church of England's College of Bishops as well as program officers for the Commissioners' office. This relationship is an example of the Foundation's potential to develop global partnerships that further the aims of Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation.
Operations
From vision to action
In 2023, the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Board voted for the Foundation to transition into an operational phase. Given the projected five-year runway needed to reach this point, operations began on schedule. This period marked the beginning of efficient, day-to-day operations in support of the Foundation's goals.
The Foundation's goals are built around three pillars:
Provide need-based scholarships and increase access to educational opportunities for Descendants to increase their financial viability
Support the emergency needs of the most vulnerable and elderly Descendants
Support existing community-based efforts that address inequities stemming from systematic racism
Education
Throughout 2023, the Foundation worked closely with Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) to develop a scholarship program that would provide Descendants of Jesuit slaveholding in the United States with need-based scholarships of up to $10,000 for attendance at a Historically Black College and/or University (HBCUs) as well as other post-secondary institutions. TMCF is one of the largest providers of support to students attending HBCUs and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs). By tapping into TMCF's existing infrastructure and expertise, the Foundation was able to stand up its scholarship program rapidly and begin providing the educational and financial support that Descendants are seeking.
Scholarships rely on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is the form that students complete and universities use to determine how much financial aid a student may be eligible to receive. The 2024 updated FAFSA form was released by the federal government three months behind schedule, causing downstream delays to the processing of applications. Despite those delays, the Foundation has awarded $129,100 in scholarships as of August 2024.
Elderly Support
Over the last year, the Foundation has prepared to launch the first program under the second pillar. In partnership with specialized providers, the program will provide critical home modifications for elderly and infirm Descendants to help them age in place safely and affordably for as long as possible.
Modifications and repairs may include installation of ramps, grab bars, handrails, shower seats, levers and more. This program, expected to launch in late 2024, will bring needed relief to seniors with limited means.
Racial Healing
The third pillar of the Foundation's work involves providing grants to existing community-based organizations working to dismantle systemic racism or promoting Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation initiatives. The Foundation continues to cultivate relationships with such organizations and has received notification of interest from those seeking grants. The Foundation is currently developing an RFP process for soliciting and evaluating applications and anticipates opening an application process in the coming year.
$129,100
in scholarships has been awarded by the
Foundation to 14 Descendant college students.
This number grows every week.
Spotlight: Ashley Robinson
DTRF Scholarship Recipient
Growing up in Baltimore plus a stint in Japan with her military family during high school, Ashley Robinson had no idea she was a Descendant of Jesuit slaveholding. A little curiosity from her mother led them both to take DNA tests through Ancestry.com, confirming their heritage. That's when Ashley learned that some of her ancestors were sold to plantations in Louisiana and some remained in Maryland.
"I think about it often, how this country was built on the literal backs of my ancestors," Ashley says.
Ashley learned of the DTRF Scholarship Program at the perfect moment. She and her fiancé had gone back to school at University of Maryland to complete their degrees in computer science a few years before, but with just one year left, she began to worry she might need to take a year off to work and earn money to pay for her last few semesters.
"I think about it often, how this country was built on the literal backs of my ancestors."
The money from the DTRF scholarship is exactly the amount she needed, enabling her to finish her degree in fall 2025. Ashley says it will show her three children — ages 7, 2 and 3 months — that they can achieve anything with perseverance and will make her ancestors proud.
"A goal of mine is to start a successful nonprofit for financial literacy in young women such as myself," Ashley says. "I believe this would please my ancestors greatly as their hardships to freedom have paved my way to this very moment."
Scholarship Recipient Ashley Robinson.
Scholarship Recipient Ashley Robinson.
Scholarship Recipient Ashley Robinson is proud of the message that completing her degree will send to her children, ages 7, 2 and 3 months.
Scholarship Recipient Ashley Robinson is proud of the message that completing her degree will send to her children, ages 7, 2 and 3 months.
Scholarship Recipient Ashley Robinson is proud of the message that completing her degree will send to her children, ages 7, 2 and 3 months.
Scholarship Recipient Ashley Robinson is proud of the message that completing her degree will send to her children, ages 7, 2 and 3 months.
Scholarship Recipient Ashley Robinson with her fiance, who is also completing his degree in computer science.
Scholarship Recipient Ashley Robinson with her fiance, who is also completing his degree in computer science.
Spotlight: Alana Petifer
DTRF Scholarship Recipient
Alana Petifer learned about her ancestry when she was choosing a graduate school. She had graduated from North Carolina Central University, an HBCU, with a degree in environmental and geographic sciences and wanted to continue that path. She told her grandmother she was leaning toward Georgetown. Her grandmother said, "You should check out the family tree on Ancestry.com. You're a descendant of Jesuit slaveholding on your mom's side."
Alana learned she is a descendant of Issac Hawkins, one of the individuals sold in the 1838 transaction, giving her legacy status at Georgetown. She applied for and was accepted to the school's new Science in Environment and International Affairs program — and then applied for the DTRF scholarship.
"I think my ancestors would be amazed that their tribulations have been acknowledged," Alana said. "I believe they would be even more astounded that there is a scholarship to help with the educational pursuits of their descendants. They thought they would never be free, and now their descendants are being given a piece of power, which is education. I am very thankful for this scholarship."
"I think my ancestors would be amazed that their tribulations have been acknowledged. I believe they would be even more astounded that there is a scholarship to help with the educational pursuits of their descendants.
Today, Alana walks the Georgetown campus, where many buildings were built by her ancestors and one building is now named after her direct ancestor, Isaac Hawkins. She says she feels a mixture of emotions.
"What would have happened if my family were not enslaved? I think about that a lot," Alana says. "It's not common, but I know exactly who the enslaver was, and I often wonder: What if they hadn't done this?"
Alana Petifer, Descendant and recipient of Descendants Truth & Reconciliation scholarship.
Alana Petifer, Descendant and recipient of Descendants Truth & Reconciliation scholarship.
The Foundation in the News
From the beginning, one of the Foundation's goals was to achieve recognition as a leading voice on the subject of racial healing. The creation of a partnership between the Descendants of the enslaved and the successors of their enslavers has piqued global interest, sparked imaginations and inspired hearts, leading reporters and writers to dive more deeply into the history and the Foundation's unique response.
MSNBC: 'Into America'
An episode of Trymaine Lee's MSNBC podcast, "Into America," featured DTRF President and CEO Monique Maddox and Trust Board Chair Fr. Tim Kesicki. Their conversation covered how the Foundation is working to provide healing from the trauma of the past.
The 272
The Foundation, as well as its co-founders, were included in the critically acclaimed book, "The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church," by Rachel L. Swarns. This award-winning book, named as a must-read by The New York Times, Washington Post and Time magazine, has further raised awareness of the Jesuits' history and the Foundation's efforts to navigate a pathway to healing.
PBS: The Cost of Inheritance
The Foundation, as well as several Descendants, were featured in "The Cost of Inheritance," a PBS "America ReFramed" special that explores the complex issue of reparations in the U.S. Co-Founder Joseph Stewart attended the New York premier of the film and participated in a panel discussion after the viewing.
America Magazine Op-Ed
DTRF President and CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox penned an op-ed for America magazine exploring what the Church owes to Descendants and to the broader Catholic community.
"We also recognized that without reconciling with the past, the church would never be able to lead with integrity or authority. How would we look to our priests in the same way if they did not, in the words of St. Francis of Assisi, 'heal wounds, unite what has fallen apart, and bring home those who have lost their way'?"
The Tablet
In September 2023, the Foundation announced contributions from Georgetown University and the Jesuits, news that was picked up nationally and internationally.
WVON Radio Chicago
In June 2023, Co-Founder Joseph Stewart and TMCF President and CEO Dr. Harry Williams were featured live on Chicago's WVON Radio discussing the power of the Foundation's scholarship program.
In May 2024, President & CEO Monique Trusclair Maddox was a guest on WVON Radio discussing the aims of the Foundation and its scholarship program.
Fundraising
The Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Trust
The Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Trust currently holds $27.1 million, with another $16 million pledged. The Foundation is the sole beneficiary of the Trust.
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