Date: September 11, 2025
Over the past two weeks, our reparations work has drawn significant attention. First, the announcement of the groundbreaking for the Memorial sparked some unpleasant commentary on Facebook. Because of this increased attention, Senior Vice President Burridge reports that more than 15,000 people viewed the announcement. She also worked diligently to remove posts containing expletives and then responded thoughtfully and respectfully to some of the more outrageous assertions.
Second, I have now read the 23 July 2025 report of the United Nations General Assembly titled “Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement offices through transformative change for racial justice and equality.“ It is an impressive and comprehensive document that calls for “reparatory justice for legacies of enslavement.” Thanks to the participation of Ms. Ebonee Davis, the work of Virginia Theological Seminary is highlighted as a model for how academic institutions can respond. We are one of only two educational institutions mentioned in the text, the other being the University of Cambridge.
From outrage to gratitude, these two moments remind me that the hard work led by Ebonee is critically important. For some, we represent a challenge to the current efforts to dismantle all forms of DEI. For others, we are a pioneer—imperfect, yet faithfully walking a path that others are invited to join.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary.