*Georgetown University and the University of Virginia have taken steps towards redressing admissions issues.
Both universities developed reparations plans for American descendants of slaves.
Here’s what Moguldom reports, “Georgetown provides preferential treatment to applicants descended from the 273 people who were once enslaved and sold by the Maryland Province of Jesuits,” the outlet writes.
An optional essay at the University of Virginia asks applicants to describe their “personal or historical connection” with the institution, including being descendants of former staffers, ABC News reports.
Universities nationwide are considering replacing affirmative action with reparations plans. Students across the nation are studying slavery and seeking symbolic or financial reparations. Moreover, this growing movement is calling for universities to identify and support students who are descendants of slaves.
“We always welcome the opportunity to engage in a direct and positive dialogue with students, and the question of reparations remains an important one that will continue to prompt exploration on campus,” a spokesperson at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said in a statement provided to ABC News.
Early trustees of the university owned slaves, and the first building on campus, University Hall, was built by enslaved people.
The student-led “Coalition for University Accountability” group supports two bills that would tax the university’s properties. The organization wants the funds used for reparations initiatives and educating students about the legacy of slavery at the school.
Brown is tax-exempt according to the state constitution. As ABC News reports, citing a Boston Globe analysis, taxing the university’s properties would bring in an estimated $48 million annually.
Per ABC News, a spokesperson for the university said in a statement, “Brown continues to believe that taxes imposed through legislative efforts impede the efforts of higher education institutions,” adding that “legislative efforts such as these tend to overlook that Brown provides extensive contributions to the community we call home in significant areas that meet public need and offset the need for greater public resources.”
READ MORE: Atlanta Considers Reparations – But Not Direct Cash Payments for Black Residents | WATCH
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