FOLLOW THE MONEY!
Search an American company or school/university that made money off of the enslaved, during the Transatlantic slave trade
List the company below, and complete the questions in #3 below
What is the significance of this company/institution making money off the backs of enslaved people? How does that matter for today, when we discuss how these people were not able to participate in the market economy for ~250 years (1619-1865)? What is the company/school VALUED at (or what is their endowment) today?
Reply to another classmate, and share what YOU think that company should do to make amends for their role (trust me, they can afford it…)
here is the response of another classmate:
A university that made money off of the enslaved during the Transatlantic slave trade was Harvard University. Harvard benefitted from slavery in many ways such as directly enslaving people to work as faculty and staff in addition to, receiving funds from plantation owners within the Caribbean and American South, and also generous donations from slave owners and other people who profited from slavery. This is significant as this money helped to hire future faculty and students and to develop its infrastructure all while establishing ideas that supported slavery and segregation, further increasing the oppression of slaves. This matters today as the generational wealth gap continues to grow between those who are previous alums from Harvard and the families of those who were previously enslaved. This is because slaves were not allowed to participate in the market economy restricting their economic potential which affected their future generations as well. As of June 30, 2023, Harvard is valued at $50.7 billion.
