On Thursday, Feb. 13, Andrew Davenport ‘08 delivered a series of talks to Fairfield Prep students on the Jesuits and their history with slavery.

A former social studies teacher at Prep and current Ph.D. student at Georgetown University, Mr. Davenport spoke about how Jesuits in the 19th century in Maryland and Louisiana were slave owners.

This history is part of Georgetown's "Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project," which began in 2016 as a joint endeavor between the Jesuits of the USA Central and Southern Province and St. Louis University. 

On Feb. 12, Mr. Davenport took part in an Open Visions Forum at the Quick Center alongside Gayle Jessup White, Community Relations Director at Monticello in Virginia. Mr. Davenport and Ms. Jessup White are both distant cousins and descendants of Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved families

Watch the video for a recap of the morning.

Additional Resources

• Slavery, History, Memory and Reconciliation Project Research - Preliminary Findings
• Jesuits Central and Southern — Slavery, History and Reconciliation
• Jesuits.org