"The Georgetown sale was one of thousands that forcefully migrated more than one million men, women, and children from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C." ♪ ♪ STEWART: There are about 10,000 descendants, and of that number, maybe half are still living.
EARL WILLIAMS, SR.: It's personal to me.
Some of the greatest men in this country were educated in Georgetown, on our ancestors' backs.
BRANCHE-BAKER: For me, it was an opportunity to face the truth, to understand my own background and my own ancestry.
♪ ♪ STEWART: The first contact was on September 1 of 2016, when Georgetown was making an announcement about a task force report.
- Throughout this past year, as the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation conducted their related efforts, they sponsor... MANN: Georgetown created a commission.
- The working group completed its work over the summer.
- The descendant community asked for representation on that commission.
They were denied.
- Gentleman right behind you, please introduce yourself.
- May I please join you?
- Um, well, uh, sure.
- My name is Joe Stewart, and I'm a descendant of the 272.
(applause) And I've invited other members of the 272 here to join us today.
One of the working groups said that what was missing from this scenario was the faces of the slaves.
Here are the faces.
(applause) These are the faces.
To date, we have not had the privilege in working with the working group.
You don't start reconciling by alienating.
And our attitude is, "Nothing about us without us."
(applause) - Yes, I do appreciate it.
