Project History
How We Began
In 2021, the university convened the President’s Task Force Examining Loyola’s Connections to Slavery. The task force was charged with initiating and guiding a university-wide examination of Loyola University Maryland’s connections to slavery and its ongoing legacies. These legacies include, but are not limited to, the broader experience of Black staff, students, and faculty at Loyola, histories of exclusion and marginalization at Loyola, and efforts to promote racial justice on campus, in Baltimore, and across the country.
A group of Loyola faculty, administrators, and students, along with two descendants from those who Jesuits enslaved, conducted scholarly research to better understand the University’s connections to slavery. The task force report, published in January 2024, shares their findings and offers recommendations for moving forward. In April 2024, President Terrence M. Sawyer announced the formation of an implementation team to review these recommendations and develop a formal project plan. The president charged the team with carrying out the work with a commitment to justice, the search for truth, and reconciliation as we move forward to live out our mission as a Jesuit, Catholic university.
Research Launches
In summer 2022, nine Loyola undergraduates participated in an eight-week Aperio Research Fellowship under the guidance of Dr. David Carey, Jr., Doehler Chair in history; Lisa Zimmerelli, Ph.D., associate professor of writing; and Jenny Kinniff, head of archives and special collections, Loyola Notre Dame Library. The group conducted intensive primary source research on Loyola’s historical ties to slavery and its legacies.
In fall 2022, these Aperio researchers were joined by other undergraduates in two fall courses on these themes, one taught by Dr. Carey through the disciplinary lens of history, and another by Dr. Zimmerelli through the lens of creative writing. Their research was presented to the community in November of that year and forms the foundation of the subsequent book Untold Truths.
Making Connections
In February 2023, task force members shared research findings at the University of Maryland’s 1856 Project Symposium.
In April 2023, Loyola University Maryland participated in the launch of the Roberson Project at the University of the South’s Locating Slavery’s Legacies database. The university has worked with student interns and researchers to add Loyola campus landmarks to the database.
Publication of Untold Truths
In April 2024, the university celebrated the publication of Untold Truths: Exposing Slavery and Its Legacies at Loyola University Maryland with a book launch event. Untold Truths is a student-created work that was created as part of the Aperio Series of Humane Texts, a unique Center for the Humanities initiative that enables faculty and students to collaborate on original research and publish their work with Apprentice House Press, Loyola’s student-run publishing company.
In April 2024, President Terrence M. Sawyer, J.D., announced the formation of an implementation team to review the recommendations of the task force and develop a formal project plan. The president charged the team with carrying out the work with a commitment to justice, the search for truth, and reconciliation as we move forward to live out our mission as a Jesuit, Catholic university.
In May 2024, the Loyola Jesuit Community releases a statement, The Loyola University Maryland Jesuit Community on Revelations of Jesuit Slaveholding.
In November 2024, Loyola is awarded a NetVUE Reframing the Institutional Saga grant from the Council of Independent Colleges. This two-year grant funds the creation of curricular materials for Messina Program classes and the creation of a website to share a more nuanced, inclusive history of Loyola.
Sharing the Story
In February 2025, Loyola is awarded an Inclusive Histories grant from the MD250 Commission. This grant funds an exhibit and lecture sharing the story of Jesuit slaveholding in Maryland, and Loyola’s ties to it, in spring 2026.
As the Implementation Team continues its work, Loyola’s campus community has continued to reflect on, expand upon, and engage with the findings outlined in the 2024 report. The Events page offers event highlights that demonstrate how our campus community continues important conversations about Loyola’s past, present, and future in a variety of venues and formats.