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SIEGEL: Why a dorm named Gibbons makes a difference

How to begin making amends for slavery at the University

The University has been very open recently about its ties to slavery and the slave trade, publically acknowledging Thomas Jefferson’s commitment to slavery in the construction of this school and in his private life. While many other universities have also recognized their roles in the slave trade, a New York Times article on Georgetown University’s 1838 slave sale reopens this wound of Americans’ past inexcusable actions. Georgetown’s Jesuit priests sold 272 slaves in order to keep the university alive. How does the nation come to terms with these events now? We must relate the past events to our lives today, negotiating the past without obliterating the truth while we try to change its course for the future. Since we cannot change the events of the past, we must pay our behavior forward in a way that honors the remaining descendants. In order to make these ancestors real to the general public and attempt to reconcile our rather grim history, we must honor those whose lives were violated with the creation of an edifice of some sort that can permanently stand the test of time. Additionally, we should grant scholarships to slave descendants.

Dr. Adam Rothman, a historian at Georgetown, is working on figuring out ways for his university to make amends for its messy origins in slavery and slave trade. He and his colleagues are debating whether Georgetown should simply apologize or “create a memorial to those enslaved and provide scholarships for their descendants.” There is a lot more meaning in the creation of a memorial to honor the slaves than a public apology on behalf of a university. Maxine Crump, a descendant of one of these 272 slaves sold in 1838, says that she would like to see the name of slave Cornelius Hawkins inscribed in a memorial on campus. This thought makes her ancestors real to her, as “Her ancestors, once amorphous and invisible, are finally taking shape in her mind. There is joy in that…exhilaration even.” Offering scholarships has a permanent impact on the lives of the descendants, serving to give them a chance to continue their studies at a university that took advantage of their ancestors.

Last year, the University’s Board of Visitors decided to name the newest dormitory after William and Isabella Gibbons, an enslaved couple during the mid-19th century. University President Teresa Sullivan expressed the importance of this naming, saying, “This is part of a broad, ongoing effort to recognize the role of slavery in the University’s history and to educate the members of our community about the role of enslaved persons at U.Va as we approach our bicentennial.” William Gibbons attended to Prof.William McGuffey, while Isabella worked for Physics Prof. Francis Smith, until the end of the Civil War brought them freedom. Kirt von Daake, co-chair of the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University, explains that “their lives are a testament to enslaved people’s resistance to slavery and racism.” Thus we must mark their impact on the University and their resilience in an effort to combat racial tensions and come to terms with our past. Fourth-year Engineering student Emily McDuff drew attention to the fact that the Gibbons House “is the first building on grounds to not be named after a white guy…. That in and of itself is such a big thing for U.Va.”

Honoring the descendants of enslaved ancestors goes beyond the need to make amends for the happenings of the past; it is a call to address the racism that still taints American lives. While it is obvious that making amends is never going to be an adequate response to the horror of the past, taking these steps illuminates the darkness in our history so that we may come to forgive but never forget.

Lucy Siegel is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at l.siegel@cavalierdaily.com.

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