A descendent of Henrietta Mills Robin Proudie spoke at the forum on the descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved held Thu. Feb. 8, 2024 on the campus of St. Louis University. Photo by Wiley Price I St. Louis American
Descendants of St. Louis University Enslaved [DSLUE] is seeking reparative and restorative justice. Descendants of Henrietta Mills held a historic gathering at St. Louis University on Thursday, February 8th. The special press gathering called for the announcement of the unveiling of the value of wealth acquired from slave labor stolen by the university is estimated to be worth $361 million to $70+ billion.
“We know from the Jesuits themselves these universities unjustly enriched themselves and accumulated billions and billions of dollars at the expense of enslaved people,” said Areva Martin, civil rights attorney. Martin is the family’s legal counsel and represents 200 descendants of Henrietta Mills.
The event marked the first time that the value of slave labor that built a U.S. university was calculated and unveiled and included calls on the university to disgorge ill-gotten gains and make good on promises of justice and accountability.
Robin Proudie a descendant of Henrietta Mills and the founder and executive director of DSLUE, formed the non-profit organization to honor and commemorate Jesuit and Saint Louis University Enslaved Ancestors, preserve heritage and legacy, repair historical harms, and educate the broader public about this history now, and in the future.
“The harm that was done to my ancestors is multi-dimensional so the repairs need to be multi-demional,” said Proudie.
Martin explains to supporters of the descendants that while SLU has taken steps to recognize and memorialize its history through the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project (SHMRP), the university has, thus far, failed to conduct a valuation of the theft and return the stolen wealth.
When speaking about SLU’s lack of luster to reconcile and atone Proudie said, “ We are doing the work they should be doing.”
Universities around the country are investigating their relationship with slavery. Universities such as Yale, Harvard, and Brown; however, none of these schools have calculated the value of slave labor used to build their institutions or the wealth accumulated as a result.
From 1823 to 1865 Proudie’s ancestors helped build St. Louis University, and St. Francis Xavier College Church. According to Proudie Chauvin was enslaved to a local St. Louis woman named Amanda Curtis. The founder and executive director says her ancestors also helped sustain the new university as well as the first mission of the Jesuit in St. Louis, including Jesuit-led schools, churches, and farms in our region.
Proudie also discovered the founder of SLU, Bishop Louis William V. DuBourg, and the first president, Peter Verhaegen, S.J., enslaved her ancestors, and the first eleven presidents owned at least seventy slaves. She also found out that the Jesuits throughout Missouri enslaved 70 of her ancestors beginning with the original six who came here from Maryland in 1823, by 1829 the Jesuits brought 15 more enslaved people to St. Louis; they were all relatives of Proudie. A ledger from 1831 shows the total number of enslaved people owned by the Jesuits in Missouri, 26 of that total are relatives of Proudie.
Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President Emerita, Bennett College for Women, and the award-winning labor economist’s research team worked to help establish the value of stolen labor. The expert labor economist charges the esteemed university with negligence, “They did nothing with the documented information on their involvement with slavery,” said Malveaux. “I’m sure the president could have assigned an economist the task of doing these calculations”
The university president was not in attendance, however, this statement was released from Clayton Berry, assistant vice president for communications.
“We cannot yet offer a detailed response to the specific information shared at today’s event on SLU’s campus. At this point, we can affirm that we understand and share the sense of urgency expressed by several members of the descendant community. SLU’s participation in the institution of slavery was a grave sin. We acknowledge that progress on our efforts to reconcile with this shameful history has been slow, and we regret the hurt and frustration this has caused.
Continuing this work is a priority for SLU and the Society of Jesus. As we move forward, we hope to re-establish and build deeper relationships with all descendant families, to explore together how best to honor the memory of those who were enslaved by the Jesuits.”
The labor economist team’s calculations are 24 hours per day, 365 days per year for 70 enslaved people, from 1823 to 1865 using the lowest wage at that time of 5 cents an hour. This estimated value adds up to $361 million to $70+ billion, “We’re not asking, we’re demanding,” said Malveaux.
State Sen. Karla May (D-04), an alumnus of the University and supporter of DSLUE efforts said, “ Today is the first step in righting this wrong. And it is a chance for SLU to begin reconciling with their own pasts, and with the descendants of the enslaved African Americans who laid the bricks we walk on today.”
Fighting back tears Proudie said, “I am a descendant and I want my ancestor to bear witness. We took the step to say we want you to be honored, we want to be acknowledged, and we’re not asking for a handout. We are asking for a debt to be paid. We have engaged with St. Louis University, and we waited patiently, we came with a spirit of collaboration and a spirit of partnership.”
Martin pointed out that other religious and academic institutions around the country have begun good faith efforts to disgorge ill-gotten gains from forced slave labor. According to the civil rights attorney, Loyola University Maryland presented an extensive report detailing how the school benefitted from the slave trade – and laying out comprehensive recommendations for a path forward that includes restitution.
“Acknowledgement and an apology is not the same as atonement, assigning a number to the theft is a critical part of reconciliation,” said Martin.
Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.
