Sold by the Jesuits

In The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church, journalist Rachel L. Swarns presents readers with stories of families—how they are constituted, destroyed, and reassembled. The title of the book refers to the 272 women, children, and men sold by Georgetown University’s leadership in 1838. Swarns has chronicled the story of this sale in the pages of the New York Times and scholars have written extensively about it.  Read Full Article »