Descendants of the enslaved Black people who built a university in Missouri calculated that they were owed up to $74 billion in unpaid labor.
The calculation was announced on St. Louis University's campus [SLU] on Thursday – an effort being pushed by the Descendants of St. Louis University Enslaved [DSLUE].
DSLUE was joined by a state lawmaker, a civil rights attorney and economists to announce their estimation of the monetary value of unpaid labor in the construction of SLU.
Based on "labor for 24 hours per day, 365 days per year for 70 enslaved people from 1823-1865," economist Julianne Malveaux estimated that $365 million in unpaid labor is owed. Furthermore, adding interest over time amounts to $70 billion.