Community Engagement

 

In keeping with our mission, DSLUE endeavors to engage with descendants of Jesuit-enslaved ancestors located around the country and the world, as well as other support networks of descendant groups, advocacy organizations, grassroots coalitions, academic institutions, researchers/historians, scholars, genealogists, faith-based organizations, and legislators. Our mission is to engage in strategic partnership and coalition building within the reparations ecosystem, elevate descendant voices to reclaim narratives, and ensure that our ancestors’ contributions are properly recognized. This is done through research initiatives, conferences and symposiums, projects and panels, reunion events, and ceremonial programs and protest activations.

Robin A. Proudie

Founder

Robin A. Proudie was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and has dedicated her life to service and justice. After joining the U.S. Navy at eighteen, she served seven honorable years as an aviation data analyst and continued her career as a civil servant for over seventeen years, working alongside senior military officials, foreign diplomats, and government leaders. From 2009 to 2017, Robin worked at the Pentagon where she held a top-secret clearance and liaised with foreign attaches and U.S. ambassadors and staff in Washington D.C. and abroad. Her diverse career has included unique positions at the Pentagon, Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture, and the Judiciary. 

Robin’s most significant mission, however, is honoring the legacy of her Ancestors, who were enslaved by the Jesuits and Saint Louis University. As the founder of Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved, Inc. (DSLUE), she is unwavering in her commitment to seeking reparations to address historical and lingering harms, and to ensure that the sacrifices and contributions of Black Americans past, present and future to American society are never forgotten.