An Unjust Enrichment: St. John’s College Releases Report Stating that Multiple Buildings Were Built by Slaves and Named After Enslavers

From [HERE] St. John’s College recently released a report on the namesakes for the college’s Annapolis campus buildings and their association with slavery, finding buildings named for enslavers and multiple buildings that might have been constructed with enslaved labor.

The St. John’s College History Task Force was created in 2020 to research the college’s relationship to indigenous and enslaved people and to make recommendations on how that history should be acknowledged.

“As the third-oldest college in the country, we knew that there would be parts of our history we wouldn’t — couldn’t — be proud of,” St. John’s College President Nora Demleitner said in a news release on Nov. 1. “This report gives us the opportunity to face our past head-on.”

St. John’s College was founded in 1696, 77 years after the first victims of the Atlantic slave trade were brought to North America.

“During the 17th, 18th and 19th century, slavery touched every aspect of life in Maryland, with slaveholders controlling much of the state’s wealth, ultimately influencing its culture. St. John’s College was not exempt from this history,” the report says.

The report was completed by the task force and funded in part with a grant from the Maryland Historical Trust. The task force reviewed census records, the college’s annual reports and newspaper articles, including from the Capital Gazette’s archives. [MORE]