When Sajan Rhea Young ’24 recently opened up about his historical connection to the University through the institution of slavery, I was reminded of my own heritage. I am a direct descendant of an enslaved man who was recorded to have worked at the University of Virginia (UVA). My family learned of this connection through a program for descendants of enslaved people who labored at UVA, in which the group worked with the university to track down descendants and provide them with enrollment and scholarship opportunities. UVA’s acknowledgment of my ancestor’s previously unrecognized contributions gave me and my family a sense of pride. Families who have a similar relationship to Princeton deserve that same reconciliation.
I believe UVA’s program is a fantastic example of a powerful institution recognizing past wrongdoings and making tangible efforts to address its effects on society. UVA was founded by Thomas Jefferson, once one of our nation’s largest slaveholders. It was established in Virginia — the state where colonial slavery originated and which later housed the capital of the Confederacy. This past makes it imperative for UVA to acknowledge and attempt to rectify its violent history through conscientious positive action. Being one of the oldest and most established institutions in the United States, Princeton has a similar responsibility to acknowledge how it has contributed to oppression and injustice, which have unfortunately shaped so much of American history. Princeton has clearly expressed its goal to serve the nation, but to do so it must attempt to correct its participating role in the history of American injustice. Creating a program that promotes the enrollment of students who belong to communities previously oppressed by the University is a tangible way to right these wrongs.
As a model, Princeton can look to my home state, Virginia, which has a horrifically violent history and a deep connection to the institution of slavery. In 2021, former governor Ralph Northam passed a law that attempts to address some of this history through the avenue of Virginia’s most important public institutions. The law created the Enslaved Ancestors College Access Scholarship and Memorial Program, which requires top public universities in Virginia to provide scholarships and opportunities for economic prosperity to descendants of enslaved people who worked to build the institutions. UVA works with the local organization Descendants of Enslaved Communities at UVA to reconcile its history with slavery and rebuild trust with the Charlottesville community. In addition, UVA added a section to its application for admission in which applicants can explain any “historical connection” they may have to the university, which explicitly mentions proven descent from an enslaved person who worked at the school. Those who are descendants are accorded the same benefit in the application review process as is given to legacy students. Other regional schools such as Virginia Commonwealth University and Georgetown University have also taken strides to correct their history with slavery through similar enrollment and scholarship programs and annual funds, respectively. These are incredible strides in tangibly improving the lives of descendants of enslaved peoples.
Located in a northern state, Princeton has a different history with slavery. Unlike schools like UVA, which were physically constructed by enslaved peoples, Princeton’s relationship with the slave system was primarily financial and indirect. However, the University benefited from the slave system all the same. At the time of Princeton’s founding, 15 percent of the state’s population was enslaved. At Princeton, academics and students alike embodied the extreme contradictions between revolutionary thought and complicity in slavery. Princetonians often boast about the revolutionary work of John Witherspoon, who signed the Declaration of Independence, but he, along with every other University president until 1854, was a slaveholder. Witherspoon also directly recruited students from families whose wealth was built upon the labor of enslaved people. The former University president saw the influx of southern students as a savvy financial decision, allowing wealth acquired from slavery to help bolster and build our University.
The financial boon that the institution of slavery gave to the University runs deep. The Pyne family had financial connections to Caribbean sugar plantations; four of the five main donors for Nassau Hall acquired their riches through the slave trade; and the University’s land was first deeded by the slaveholder Nathaniel FitzRandolph (namesake of FitzRandolph Gate). Though there is no documentation of enslaved laborers building Princeton, the University would not exist without the wealth that was created through the system of slavery. Because of the University’s financial history, Princeton must right the wrongs that had to occur for the University to exist.
Of course, it should not be overlooked that Princeton has taken many steps in reaction to its past wrongdoings. The creation of the African American Studies department, the elimination of the name of Woodrow Wilson — who perpetuated racist policies as president — from the School of Public and International Affairs and the residential college, and detailed research into its history with slavery are all positive actions that have moved the University in the right direction. The University also has a plethora of groups and organizations that focus on creating an inclusive and welcoming space for people from all communities; Princeton has affinity groups for varying races, ethnicities, religions, and more. However, doing right in the present does not detract from the negative impact of past actions. Providing tangible opportunities for social, economic, and intellectual gains for the descendants of those who were wronged, by comparison, is a material way to unravel past injustice.
To effectively counteract these past wrongs, Princeton could implement a program similar to Georgetown University’s annual Reconciliation Fund, a $400,000 fund aimed towards financially supporting descendants of slaves who were connected to Georgetown. The allocation of funds is determined by members of both their “descendant advisory” and “student awards” committees. The fund materializes in the form of donations to community-based organizations that directly impact descendants and scholarship grants to individuals. Seeing as Princeton primarily benefited financially from the system of slavery, a similar system, geared towards providing financial reparations to communities where enslaved people were formerly forced to labor for the benefit of the University, could be an effective way for the University to have a tangible impact.
As a nation, we are in a pivotal era with regard to the establishment of social equality and recognition of our past wrongs. Princeton has made efforts to recognize its past wrongs and how it has contributed to historical and systematic injustice in this country. This acknowledgment, and the creation of spaces for people in modern-day marginalized communities are critical parts of righting past injustice, but Princeton can do more. Schools like UVA are using enrollment programs to actively right their past wrongs. Princeton should examine the most effective way to do the same, for while the University has done a good job of acknowledging its past wrongdoing, it is time to realize that these are only the first steps to counteracting a vicious history, and that truly serving our nation requires more.
Ava Johnson is a first-year contributing columnist, prospectively majoring in politics. She can be reached at aj9432@princeton.edu.
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