Rachel Swarns
@rachelswarns
Followers
15K
Following
8K
Media
518
Statuses
13K
NYU professor. NYT contributing writer. Author of THE 272: The harrowing story of the Catholic Church and slavery and one family’s indomitable will to survive.
Joined May 2009
It's at times like these that the vast disparities in wealth seem so painfully clear. Who can avoid crowded subways? Who can work from home and still receive a paycheck? Who can stock up on medicines and extra food? Which folks have laptops at home so the kids can learn remotely?.
152
13K
41K
In 2016, I received an email that knocked me off my feet. It was a tip about Jesuit priests who sold 272 people in 1838 to save Georgetown University. This wasn't news to historians, but it it astounded me. Catholic priests participated in the slave trade? Why didn’t I know?
510
5K
17K
The slave trade shattered Black families, tearing husbands from wives, parents from children. In the 1880s, a blacksmith placed an ad, hoping to find his people. Today, more than a century later, his descendants are still trying to reunite the family. They need your help.
183
6K
16K
Don Hogan Charles, the first black staff photographer to be hired by the NYTimes, has died. He shot amazing photos: this iconic image of Malcolm X for Ebony magazine, beautiful photos of Harlem, where he lived, and so many more. RIP (1/2)
61
5K
11K
There's a reckoning happening. Virginia Theological Seminary created a reparations fund. Princeton Theological Seminary. Georgetown. The Episcopal dioceses of Md., NY, TX. The Jesuits. People will debate whether this is good or bad or enough. But the reckoning is real.
108
450
5K
Wonderful news to share: I have been granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of journalism with tenure at NYU! I am so honored and overjoyed! @nyu_journalism @nyuniversity
392
178
5K
This week, I broke the story about the Jesuits' plan to raise $100 million to benefit the descendants of the people they owned and to support racial healing projects. It's the largest effort by the Catholic Church to atone for its role in slavery here.
27
688
4K
Public radio station in Seattle announces it will no longer broadcast Trump's briefings live "due to a pattern of false or misleading information that cannot be fact checked in real time.".
However, we will not be airing the briefings live due to a pattern of false or misleading information provided that cannot be fact checked in real time. (2).
110
1K
4K
Three years after my first stories broke, Georgetown announced that it would raise $400,000 a year to benefit the descendants of the enslaved, becoming the first major university to take a stab at reparations. I never thought I would see it in my lifetime.
13
459
4K
Some people might wonder why a journalist might spend so much time digging in the 19th century. It's because this history lives with us, reverberates in our times. It's because slavery was the engine that fueled the growth of so many of our contemporary institutions.
16
409
3K
The announcement of one award today by @PulitzerPrizes moved my heart. It's a special citation from the Pulitzer Board for Ida B. Wells. "For her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching.".
26
852
3K
So I wrote the story about Cornelius, the 272 and Georgetown, and I asked: “What, if anything, is owed to the descendants of slaves who were sold to help ensure the college’s survival?”
12
536
3K
Georgetown apologized and offered legacy status in admissions to the descendants of the people sold. The descendants formed associations and pressed for $1 billion. And I kept digging. I knew by then that it wasn’t just Georgetown.
2
389
3K
More than a million people read that story. Hundreds of people learned that their ancestors had been owned, bought and sold by Jesuit priests. Some wept. Some raged. Mostly, they organized.
6
366
3K
So I started to focus on the Catholic Church. @nyu_journalism hired me, giving me the opportunity to focus on this work. Sometimes, the trails you follow twist and turn. You dig in the archives. You care for your family. You pay your mortgage. Years pass.
11
397
2K
Now, Mr. Taylor's great-great-great granddaughter wants to do what her ancestor was unable to do, finally reunite a family splintered by slavery. This is where you come in. Someone out there has the clues that can help bring the Taylors back together.
10
657
3K
I followed Cornelius from a plantation in Md. to a plantation in La. I examined 19th century shipping manifests and mortgages and I realized that this was more than the story of one man selling another. Slavery had fueled the growth of universities, banks, and yes, our churches.
8
336
2K
Some might have asked: Was an 1838 slave sale even a story for the New York Times? I will be forever grateful to my editors @marclacey and @michaelluo for their support. I knew immediately that this was a story. What I didn’t know was where it would lead.
3
211
2K
How will folks who only get paid if they show up for work manage school closures? What about folks with disabilitis? Parents of children with special needs?.
10
354
2K
I'm as worried as anyone about the coronovirus. But I'm also acutely aware of my privilege at a time like this, and the ways in which struggling families are particularly vulnerable.
8
325
2K
As journalists, we ask questions. We follow the records, the money. Sometimes the trail leads nowhere. Sometimes it takes you places you never imagined you’d go. 272 people were sold. I wanted to tell the story of one. So I followed the trail of an enslaved boy named Cornelius.
5
225
2K
Edward Taylor was just three when the Jesuits sold him, his mother and siblings in the 1838 sale that saved Georgetown. He was sold again, torn from his relatives and shipped to Louisiana in 1846. He was only 11 years old. He never forgot his family.
11
520
2K
Like many enslaved people, he made a way out of no way. He joined the Union Army & established himself as a blacksmith when freedom came. He had a wife, children, his own plot of land. But he couldn't forget his people. So he placed two ads. There is no record that he found them.
4
288
2K
I'm thrilled to tell you that my book about the Catholic Church's roots in slavery will be released on 6/13. It emerged from a NYT story I wrote: "272 Slaves Were Sold to Save Georgetown. What Does It Owe Their Descendants?" That story was just the beginning.
57
482
2K
Look what arrived in the mail! I got started seven years ago with my story in the NYT about the enslaved people sold by Catholic priests to help save Georgetown. It is amazing to finally see the galleys. It has been quite a journey! In bookstores on 6/13
74
311
1K
And if you're African American and searching for your ancestors or you're interested in learning more about the legacy of the American slave trade, historians have digitized a trove of the advertisements that Black people placed, searching for family. Check out @InfoWantedOrg.
8
406
1K
Georgetown has just accepted several descendants of slaves sold to save the school. Meet the Thomas siblings who will be #Hoyas this fall
33
631
1K
Genealogists are hunting for the siblings Edward Taylor lost during the slave trade. The found a Reverdy Taylor to Baltimore in 1900 – and other Taylors with similar first names in Md. and La. — and a woman named Charlotte in Mississippi. Charlotte is the most promising lead.
3
180
1K
This story about seniors and the disabled in China really stopped me in my tracks: "A 16-year-old with cerebral palsy in a village in Hubei Province, where Wuhan is the capital, starved to death days after his father was taken to a hospital."
23
475
1K
If you have information, clues that might help reunite the descendants of the Taylor family that was shattered by slavery, please contact me or the Georgetown Memory Project. We can't change our history, but we need to know it, wrestle with it, address it.
16
309
1K
I know that we're all thinking about staying safe and keeping our families safe. And helping others in the midst of an outbreak like this has its obvious challenges. But I'm thinking about it. We all need to think about it.
16
160
1K
Charlotte was married to Creer Rayborn, who was enslaved by a man named Mark Rayborn in Mississippi. DNA testing shows a link between Mr. Taylor’s descendants and Charlotte Rayborn’s descendants. But so far, no documentary evidence ties Charlotte Rayborn to Mr. Taylor’s family.
5
155
1K
Introducing Julia: The first Sesame Street muppet with autism
16
534
1K
Read more about him -- and see his photographs of Harlem -- right here: "From Black-and-White Negatives, a Positive View of Harlem" (2/2).
4
548
1K
I launched my new book - THE 272: THE FAMILIES WHO WERE ENSLAVED AND SOLD TO BUILD THE AMERICAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - bringing 7 years of research and writing into the world. It's the story of the church’s roots in slavery and a family’s fierce will to survive
19
367
1K
It happens when we're driving while black. Asking for directions while black. Sitting in Starbucks while black. Let's talk about this and about what needs to change. Join us live at 9pmET tonight with @GeeDee215, @_MarlonPeterson:
70
409
976
The Lost Friends digital archive is another wonderful resource
10
205
916
Congratulations, Second Lieutenant James. It took far too long, but we salute you and your service.
7
148
773
The Census released new figures on the wealth gap today. The general trend remains the same, but seeing the numbers always staggers me: White households had a median household wealth of $171,700, compared with $25,000 for Hispanics and $9,567 for Blacks.
26
493
732
Introducing the newly-minted officer, Second Lt. John E. James, who graduated from the Army's Office Candidate School in 1942. He was denied his commission then. He received it today, two weeks after his 98th birthday.
23
199
685
My heart is full. First, an essay about my book in the New Yorker. Then this amazing review in the Times by David Blight, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who describes THE 272 as "revelatory. a book that journeys to slavery’s heart of darkness. ''
23
183
708
You think you've steeled yourself, braced yourself, prepared yourself. You think you've nurtured a social circle where you won't have to worry. Then you're confronted with a racist remark. What do you do?
257
272
711
One viewer's reaction during our FB Live about race and Trump’s immigration policy What’s your take? Use #RaceNYT
157
187
669
As an African American, I have to be hypervigilant about my presence in the world in ways that are often unimaginable to my white colleagues. I can rage about it. I can weep about it. But it is real.
19
309
596
Last year I wrote about the slaves sold to save Georgetown: Now at least 2 descendants will join the student body.
20
347
633
As a journalist, I can feel confident that reporters and watchdogs will try to ensure that the truth emerges. As a black woman and mother of two black boys, I want to scream. I grew up blocks away from where Eric Garner died. How many more? How many more? .
23
195
579
My book - THE 272: THE FAMILIES WHO WERE ENSLAVED AND SOLD TO BUILD THE AMERICAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - is in stores today! It's the harrowing story of the Catholic Church and one family's indomitable will to survive and I talked about it on NPR's Fresh Air.
26
191
564
How we followed the trail of a slave described in a 19th century ledger to his great-great granddaughter in Virginia
23
258
597
He was a NYT correspondent famous for exposing racial violence of the '60s. We just found his photos. Check them out
5
319
524
Christian Hayden, 30, recalled a security guard searching his bags as he left a Barnes & Noble. The guard found his copy of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s memoir “The Beautiful Struggle,” and wouldn't let him leave until the staff had checked the shelves to make sure no copy had been stolen.
24
230
515
John E. James had never met or seen a black officer, but when he heard the Army was recruiting, he signed up. He was accepted into the Army's officer candidate school at Ft. Benning in 1942, ready to join the military's tiny black elite. But that's not what happened.
16
332
507
New York Times begins new series -"This Week in Hate"- tracking hate crimes around the nation since Trump's election
31
544
510
Nearly two centuries ago, the Jesuit priests who founded and ran what is now Georgetown University sold 272 people to keep the college afloat. Men. Women. Children. Babies. Many wept as they were loaded onto the ships. Three years ago, I told their story.
14
308
467
For generations, enslaved people have been largely left out of the origin story traditionally told about the Catholic Church. I’m a black journalist and a black Catholic. And I grew up without knowing any of this. That’s why I had to tell this story.
23
268
477
Columbia unearths its ties to slavery: The university benefited from slavery-related fortunes & helped increase them
49
453
479
Letters from Obama, written when he was a 20-something: “I feel sunk in that long corridor between old values, actions, modes of thought, and those that I seek, that I’m working towards.”
9
125
442
This week, Georgetown announced that it would establish a fund to benefit the descendants of those enslaved people. It is the first major American university to take a stab at reparations. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime.
8
159
408
Required reading for my NYU students this fall, and for anyone else who cares about American history. Ida B. Wells unearthed ugly truths at the root of lynchings, and pointed out something that we often prefer to forget: Racial violence afflicts the north, too, not just the south
13
107
403
Some news: I'm taking a leave from NYTimes to write a book about Georgetown's roots in slavery. Can't wait to dive into the 1800s again
29
116
404
John Lewis teared up as he accepted the National Book Award: As a teen, he was told libraries were "for whites only"
12
303
389
Powerful piece on Derrick Bell, the man behind critical race theory. This line resonated with me: "Diversity is not the same as redress. it could provide the appearance of equality while leaving the underlying machinery of inequality untouched."
3
132
394
My great-great-great grandfather registered to vote in 1867. He was a 40-year-old black man, ready to vote for the first time. I still don't know if he cast a ballot. The Klan and Jim Crow would ultimately deny him that right. So on Election Day, I think of him. And I vote.
6
95
386
Exclusive: The Jesuits have committed to raising $100 million to atone for their participation in the American slave trade. “Our shameful history of Jesuit slaveholding in the United States has been taken off the dusty shelf, and it can never be put back.”
23
143
383
People of color — and women — are rarely celebrated when they rage. We are penalized when we rage. We are dismissed and discounted. As emotional women. As angry black women. As difficult black men.
2
87
350
NYT reporting on Ida B. Wells in 2018, when @itscaitlinhd wrote her obituary for the Overlooked series and hailed her for for pioneering "reporting techniques that remain central tenets of modern journalism."
7
117
334
So meaningful! For my grandfather and for all of the men who played for the Negro Leagues.
5
72
314
In 1894, the New York Times -- which I love and where I've spent most of my career -- described Ida B. Wells as a "slanderous and nasty minded mulatress." Why? For daring to say that white women who accused black men of rape were often involved in consensual relationships.
8
77
317
This is America. A prominent black jazz musician is staying in a boutique hotel in SoHo. And a white woman accuses his young son of stealing her phone. Watch! (Her phone was later found in an Uber.)
22
118
298
My white professional friends often go to parent teacher conferences and to doctor’s offices in casual clothes. I dress up. It might sound crazy to you, but teachers and doctors don’t hear me or speak to me or see me in the same way without my armor.
5
57
289
On Mrs. Obama's last day, I'm thinking about her amazing ancestors who carried the family from slavery to the WhiteHouse in five generations
1
116
292
NYU announced today that it plans "to be open and to resume in-person classes in New York City" in the fall.
23
93
311
Her campaign took nearly three years, more than a dozen emails and letters and the intervention of Senator Bob Casey, the Pennsylvania Democrat. Today, the Army will finally make amends, promoting Mr. James, just two weeks after his 98th birthday.
2
45
260
Elijah Cummings, in the city he loved.
shoutout to this boss photo of the late Elijah Cummings -- 1997, Baltimore (Andre Chung / Baltimore Sun):
3
66
280
How have NYT photographers covered the African-American community? What moments in history did they capture? What did they miss? Join us at 9pmET tonight for a livechat about the new book: “Unseen: Unpublished Black History from the NYT Photo Archives"
19
93
290
Many of us celebrate her now, the crusading African-American journalist who reported on lynchings around the country. But she received little applause from the media establishment when she was risking her life to expose the truth.
1
43
270
So thrilled to be honored by the Religion News Association for reporting on the nuns who bought and sold enslaved people, and on an Episcopal seminary that profited from slave labor. 'Both stories, unflinching in their look back at the past. help us understand. issues of today.’.
14
40
286
So honored to receive an @NEHgov Public Scholar fellowship! It is an incredible gift. It allows me to devote 2021-2022 to working on my book about the enslaved people who were bought, owned and sold to help fuel the growth of Georgetown and the Catholic Church. So grateful!
37
39
281
White parents can sigh about their children and say, “Boys will be boys.” I see white boys -- rowdy, funny, smart-alecky, chest-thumping -- and my heart breaks. Because I know my son does not have that luxury.
3
49
236
There has been a lot of talk lately about second chances, about innocence until proven guilty, about the right to the benefit of the doubt. Whatever your position on Brett Kavanaugh, the truth is that black boys and black men are rarely accorded those privileges.
2
62
240
So when I saw the story about a black man put in handcuffs because he was carrying a TV he bought into his own house, I raged inside. Driving while black. Sleeping while black. Shopping while black. Eating lunch while black. Now this? In 2018, it shouldn't be so hard to just be.
2
54
241
I went to Louisiana to follow the footsteps of the 272 enslaved people who were sold to help save Georgetown University. Scores arrived here on a slave ship in the Port of New Orleans 179 years ago. (1/6)
15
140
256
One of the best things about being a journalist is talking to remarkable people. Tonight at 9pmET, you can join me for a livechat with author @pronounced_ing about race, class, family and her newest novel. Click here to join us:
23
79
268
I have more than two decades in the journalism business now. I'm a professor and an author. And Ida B. Wells still knocks me off my feet. I teach her book to my @nyu_journalism students every year. To learn that she was honored by the @PulitzerPrizes? Moved me to tears.
2
38
252
When we talk about slavery, we can't just talk about the South. This week, Boston is grappling with its ties to the transatlantic slave trade.
8
98
230
Michele Bradshaw, 49, said she left a Nordstrom Rack not far from the Starbucks after she noticed a security guard following her through the aisles of clothing.
14
97
240
This powerful reporting exposes what many people of color encounter when they try to buy their “personal American dream.” Lenders were 80 percent more likely to reject Black applicants for home loans than similar white applicants.
9
151
229
New York Life sold hundreds of insurance polices on slaves in the 1840s, including one on her greatgreat grandfather
19
209
239
Amazing! The very first photo of one of the 272 slaves sold to save Georgetown. Find out more at NYT Race/Related:
8
232
229
My son is a 6th grader in accelerated algebra, a soccer player who loves novels about Egyptian mythology. But white people often assume the worst of adolescent black boys. So he will never have the same freedom as his white peers, if he wants to excel, if he wants to be safe.
2
36
216
Trevor Johnson, 27, a bike courier, recalled being arrested four years ago after an officer asked him to turn off his music and he got up to walk away.
2
99
230
NYT reporting on Ida B. Wells in 1894, when the paper called her a "slanderous and nasty-minded mulatress"
6
92
227
They wanted to go to the movies for their first date. But it was 1949. So they walked into the theater separately. She went in first. Then he followed, taking the seat next to her. In the dark, the interracial couple could finally hold hands. A year later, they got married.
7
54
226
My sister's team of lawyers at @innocence took a closer look at the murder of Malcolm X and found that the FBI and NYPD withheld critical evidence. Two men will be exonerated, validating lingering questions about the official account of the assassination.
5
69
212
Passing for black? Dig into history and you'll find examples of white people passing as African Americans long before Rachel Dolezal and Jessica Krug at George Washington University. I reported on this several years ago. Here's what I learned.
11
108
213
There's a reckoning happening. I never thought I'd see it. Virginia Theological Seminary created a reparations fund. Princeton Theological Seminary. Now, Georgetown. People will debate whether this is good or bad or enough. But the reckoning is real.
4
56
206
This Black History Month, I want to celebrate the love stories tucked away in the archives of the 19th century and the enslaved couples who held on, against the odds. Please take a moment to savor the story of Eliza and Miles, who cherished each other during the darkest of times
4
85
207
Happy birthday to my beautiful mother who turns 80 today! She emigrated to the US from the Bahamas with her family in the 1950s. She was the youngest girl in a sprawling (loud!) family, the shy one, the quiet one. But she absorbed her mother's determination and she soared.
4
8
216
The NYT objected to the notion that white women willingly consorted with "black brutes," even though Ida B. Wells exposed that truth through painstaking reporting. “Nobody in this section of the country believes the threadbare old lie that Negro men rape white women,” she wrote.
2
37
205