BALTIMORE — A Maryland religious institution has pledged to create a $1 million fund for programs benefiting the Black community in an effort to make reparations for its role in slavery and racial injustice.
The Baltimore Sun reported the Maryland diocese of the Episcopal Church voted Saturday in favor of establishing the fund. Historians have found that a majority of its churches built before 1860 were constructed using slave labor.
The $1 million makes up more than 20% of the diocese’s operating budget, and existing endowment funds will provide the capital.
The diocese’s bishop has suggested the funds go toward job training, urgent care centers, housing assistance and other efforts.
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