Photos: Change.org\DSLUE
In 2019, Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved (DSLUE) family members were informed by the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project–a partnership between Saint Louis University and the Jesuits Midwest Province–that the Jesuits bought, rented, bred, and sold their ancestors in order to build and sustain Jesuit-run schools, farms, and parishes in Missouri from 1823 to 1865.
These included, among others, St. Stanislaus, St. Francis Xavier College Church, and Saint Louis University (SLU).
Further research has revealed that not only did the founder of SLU, Bishop Louis William V. DuBourg, and the first president, Peter Verhaegen, S.J., traffic DSLUE ancestors, but the first eleven presidents forced upwards of seventy people to economically empower and expand their Catholic institutions in and around Missouri.
It is long overdue for SLU to atone for this “original sin” by formally acknowledging the central role of DSLUE Ancestors in the building and sustaining of the institution, and by telling the complete history of Saint Louis University.
Please join us to petition SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY to collaborate with DSLUE to erect a Memorial/Monument for all those that were enslaved on the campus of Saint Louis University. Establishing a Memorial/Monument on the SLU campus to the enslaved people who built Saint Louis University will:
- provide a location where students, staff, faculty, and visitors can learn about and be reminded of the forced sacrifices of Thomas and Molly Brown, Moses and Nancy Queen, Isaac and Succy Queen, Proteus and Annie Hawkins-Queen and children, Jack and Sally Queen and children, Henrietta Mills-Chauvin and Charles F. Chauvin and children, Matilda Tyler, and children, and many more souls who are not nameless, but whose lives and stories should be brought out of the darkness and into the light, lest we forget!
- change the narrative of shame and silence to one of acknowledgement and atonement and, thus, begin the process of healing for the descendants.
- create a permanent symbol of atonement that all of those associated or affiliated with SLU can be proud of.
- establish a lasting legacy for families of descendents who still remain an integral part of the St. Louis community to this day.
The time is NOW for the historical silence to end and for atonement and healing to begin. This is a history that every SLU student, staff, faculty, and visitor should learn on the campus of SLU, and there is no better way to do that than to erect a permanent Monument/Memorial to the people forced to labor for the Jesuits.
Petition started by Michael Brickey
