Trail of Souls: A Journey from Truth to Transformation Timeline
For decades, the people of the Diocese of Maryland have been working toward racial justice, reconciliation, and reparations. Many congregations committed themselves to a journey deep into their history, illuminating their present and leading them into a future with a renewed commitment to racial reconciliation. The result is a project called the Trail of Souls, a pilgrimage into the past and a transformative journey toward truth and reconciliation.
On September 12, 2020, the 236th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland passed Resolution 2020-06, creating a $1,000,000 seed fund for reparations.
November 1, 2014 was the 150th anniversary of the repeal of chattel slavery in the state of Maryland. On that anniversary date, the diocese held a Day of Repentance and Reconciliation, kicking off the pilgrimage portion of the Trail of Souls.
Three years later, there was a second pilgrimage to churches in Baltimore City. The journey continues virtually at trailofsouls.org with research, truth telling and dialogue. This is our own three legged stool of transformation.
The people of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland continue to explore ways to honor the past and restore the dignity of nameless souls who toiled as persons perceived as less than human. Their uncompensated labor instituted a way of life that still haunts us in the 21st century.
Our work helps to reconcile us with a painful past and better understand just how that past affects the present. The light of truth illuminates our path into the future.
On May 26, 2022, the diocese began returning those funds to the Black community in the form of grants to organizations who are working to repair the breach that is systemic racism in Maryland while building up Black communities around the diocese.
For more information about our reparations grants process and for updates and notice of the next granting cycle, please visit our reparations grants page.
