Born from a painful past. Building a just future.

The Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation is led by the Descendants of people enslaved and sold, in 1838, by the Society of Their forced labor helped build an empire of Catholic education. Their names, their dignity, and their place in history were nearly forgotten.

We are the moral heirs of that injustice — and we are transforming its legacy into a future of opportunity. Our impact begins with Descendants and extends outward, strengthening families, building healthier communities, and modeling how truth-telling and action can close the gap between our nation’s past and the future we want to share.

With Jesuit partners who have chosen truth over silence, we are creating something never seen in American history: a partnership between the Descendants of the enslaved and the successors of the enslavers, committed to healing and repair. 

The legacy of slavery didn’t end in 1865. Its consequences echo today in inequality, wealth gaps, and health disparities with roots in the broken promises Jesuits made in 1838. Today, Black families in the U.S.: 

• Hold just 15 cents for every dollar of white household wealth
• Live up to 30 years fewer depending on their zip code
• Experience nearly twice the unemployment rate of white Americans
• Are more than 3x as likely to die in childbirth
• Are much less likely to receive mental health treatment
• Will earn substantially less over their lifetimes
• Are less likely to hold a college degree
• Are 38% less likely to own a home
• Are incarcerated at 5 - 6x the rate of white Americans and receive federal sentences 13% longer for comparable offenses