Join the university community at “Confronting Our History: Vincentian Slaveholding, an Apology and Commitment to Atone”

President Robert L. Manuel invites the university community to come together for a ceremony of memory, apology, forgiveness and commitment to atone on Monday, May 1 at 5 p.m. in the Lincoln Park Student Center Room 120AB. 

"Confronting Our History: Vincentian Slaveholding, an Apology and Commitment to Atone" will acknowledge the enslavement of Black people by Vincentians, provide a forum for the Congregation of the Mission to apologize, establish a commitment to atone for their forerunners' slaveholding, and honor the people of the Black diaspora. This event is the first of two to be held in May and represents a culmination of two years of work by the DePaul Task Force to Address Vincentian’s Relationship with Slavery.

Through the work of the task force, DePaul is partnering with the Congregation of the Mission Western Province to study the historical relationship between the Vincentians and slavery, and the unjust legacies of that relationship which affect the DePaul campus and community. DePaul will continue to document the history of Vincentian slaveholding, curate educational resources, raise public awareness, partner in Black equity initiatives and explore renaming campus spaces in honor of the enslaved persons. 

This gathering is co-sponsored by the Division of Mission and Ministry, the Black Student Union, the Student Government Association, the Center for the Black Diaspora and the Department of African and Black Diaspora Studies. More information about a May 18 renaming ceremony for Belden-Racine Hall and a room in the John T. Richardson Library will be shared with the community soon. 

Learn more about the task force’s work and how DePaul has responded since learning of Vincentian slaveholding.