With plans to pay slavery reparations, two seminaries prompt broader debate

From Seattle-

Among elite U.S. universities, Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Georgetown have all admitted in recent years that at one time they benefited financially from the slave trade. 

But two Protestant seminaries have now gone a step further, saying that in recognition of their own connections to racism they have a Christian duty to pay reparations.

Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., the flagship institution of the U.S. Episcopal Church, announced in September that it has set aside $1.7 million for a reparations fund, given that enslaved persons once worked on its campus and that the school participated in racial segregation even after slavery ended.

Earlier this month, Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J., followed suit with an announcement of a $27 million endowed fund for reparations, from which $1.1 million would be dispersed annually.

More here-

https://www.kuow.org/stories/with-plans-to-pay-slavery-reparations-two-seminaries-prompt-a-broader-debate

Virginia Seminary President On Reparations Fund: 'Apology Is Insufficient'

From Virginia Public Radio-

We're going to turn now to the ongoing debate around reparations. In recent years, a number of universities have tried to confront how slavery shaped their institutions. Now Virginia Theological Seminary is doing the same. The seminary, which is just outside Washington, D.C., announced a plan to create a $1.7 million fund for the descendants of the slaves that helped build the school. We wanted to learn more about that plan and what it went into the decision, so we've called on Ian Markham. He's an Episcopal priest and the dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary. Thank you for joining us.

IAN MARKHAM: I'm delighted to be here.

MCCAMMON: So what led to the creation of this reparations fund?

MARKHAM: So we're on the cusp of our 200th birthday. And as you do the work of thinking about that milestone, you find yourself reflecting on 200 years. And we're very conscious that the story is one full of both grace and sin. And we need to recognize that sin is part of that story. And a huge part of that story are enslaved persons who built many of the key buildings on the campus. And almost all the faculty for decades had enslaved persons working for them. So we felt it was important that you can't mark an anniversary of such significance without really thinking through how we're going to relate to that complex part of our history.

More here-

https://www.kvpr.org/post/virginia-seminary-president-reparations-fund-apology-insufficient

Episcopal Seminary in Virginia Starts Slavery Reparations Fund

From NPR (with audio)-

What kind of reparations could begin to make amends for slavery?

In Alexandria, a new $2 million effort is underway.

As the Virginia Theological Seminary reaches its milestone 200th anniversary, Dean Ian Markham says there’s a growing awareness on campus of that the story of the Episcopal seminary is a mix of grace and sin. 

“And part of that sin is the history of racism, which includes the use of enslaved persons on this campus and our participation in segregation and Jim Crow," Markham admits. "The purpose of the reparations fund is literally to repair some of that damage.”

More here-

 https://www.wvtf.org/post/episcopal-seminary-virginia-starts-slavery-reparations-fund#stream/0

also here-

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/09/12/17-million-endowment-fund-slavery-reparations

Slaves helped build Virginia Theological Seminary. The school will spend $1.7 million in reparations.

From The Washington Post-

From their offices in a building erected by slaves, leaders of the Virginia Theological Seminary announced early this month they have created a $1.7 million fund for reparations, putting one of the oldest Episcopalian schools at the forefront of a movement among universities and other groups seeking to reconcile slavery’s enduring legacy in their organizations.

The endowment fund offers a model at a time when lawmakers and presidential candidates are studying how reparations may work nationally. At Virginia Theological Seminary — a school that did not admit black students until 1951 — the plan involves more than just writing a check.

The pot of money will be used to address “particular needs” of descendants of slaves who worked at the seminary, to create programs that “promote justice and inclusion” and to elevate the work and voices of African American alumni and clergy within the Episcopal Church, especially at historically black congregations.

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/10/virginia-theological-seminary-reparations-slavery/?noredirect=on

St. Thomas Church to host Pilgrimage for Racial Justice on Saturday

From Virginia-

The Virginia Theological Seminary will partner with the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia to bring a service of “lament, reconciliation and commitment” in remembrance of African Americans who suffered under slavery in Virginia.

The event, called the Pilgrimage for Racial Justice, will be held on Saturday, Aug. 17, at St. Thomas Church in Abingdon, Virginia, with refreshments served at 5:30 p.m. and a service beginning at 6:30 p.m. The program will feature remarks by Ron Carson, founder of the Appalachian African-American Cultural Center in Pennington Gap and a member of the federal commission coordinating 400th anniversary events to remember the arrival of African slaves in America. Joseph Green Jr., also on the federal commission and a pastor, will present a homily, and the Eucharist will be celebrated by the Right Rev. Mark Bourlakas, bishop of the southwestern Virginia diocese.

More here-

https://www.swvatoday.com/news/article_1ed1e0a1-ae95-5c7a-bca5-09b925813c24.html