A group of 272 people enslaved by Maryland’s Jesuit priests were sold in September 1838 to help save Georgetown University. To settle the school’s debts, Maryland Jesuits sold the enslaved people to plantations in Louisiana. Four of the five plantations from which the enslaved were sold were in Southern Maryland. Though they faced incredible hardship, most didn’t perish, and were able to marry and raise families. Today, more than 8,000 of their descendants have been located through genealogical research

The GU272 event, as it has become known, has evolved in multiple ways. Georgetown University has had this aspect of their history become widely known both within the university and without. The university has grappled with how to respond to the event and how to deal with reparations to the descendants of the enslaved.

As the descendants in Louisiana, Maryland, and elsewhere have come to realize their involvement, they have joined together to discuss their shared past. One such gathering took place at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in September 2023.

GU 272 is more fully described in a book by Rachel L. Swarns “The 272 – The Families who were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church”