3 Sisters Build Foundation for Truth and Racial Healing

When Kristen Haggins learned her family descended from people enslaved by the Jesuits, everything changed. "It was no longer academic; it was familial, and I was forever changed," she said.

That 2016 discovery sparked something extraordinary. Sisters Kat Albrandt, Kristen Haggins, and Whitney Haggins founded the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation in 2023 to turn painful history into powerful transformation.

The journey began after a New York Times article revealed Georgetown University's connection to enslaved families. In 2017, the Society of Jesus apologized to descendants, creating a rare moment where inheritors of enslavers met descendants of those they enslaved.

Albrandt saw the opportunity immediately. "This was a huge step and an opportunity for an immediate heart-to-heart connection," she explained. The sisters knew legal solutions alone wouldn't work. "You have to change hearts," Albrandt said.

The foundation started with concrete help in Louisiana, where many descendants still live. They focused on educating youth, providing college scholarships, and supporting elderly community members.

But the sisters quickly realized they needed to think bigger. Addressing immediate needs mattered, but racism itself remained woven into America's foundation. "If we ignore the larger picture of racism and how interwoven it is into the fabric of our nation, we would not be fully respecting our ancestors," Albrandt said.

Their mission expanded to bring together descendants from both sides of slavery's legacy. The goal isn't just opening hearts but changing the future.

Why This Inspires

The sisters turned personal pain into national healing. Whitney uses her voice "as a beacon and a weapon against the darkness," educating others and inspiring action against oppressive systems.

Kristen sees their work as part of a growing reparations movement across America. She hopes people will engage, educate themselves, and take action, whether they're descendants or not.

The foundation addresses modern injustices too, tackling the school-to-prison pipeline, child welfare failures, and housing discrimination. Each issue connects back to unhealed wounds from slavery.

Albrandt grounds everything in truth-telling. She quotes theologian Jamar Tisby: "There is no reconciliation without repentance. No repentance without confession. And no confession without truth."

In a time when history faces erasure, these three sisters are writing a different story about America's path forward, one grounded in dignity for all.