Harvard agrees to relinquish early photos of enslaved people, ending a legal battle

Harvard University has agreed to transfer 175-year-old daguerreotypes—believed to be the earliest photographs of enslaved individuals—to the International African American Museum in South Carolina, concluding a 15-year legal battle with Tamara Lanier. Lanier, who identifies as a descendant of Renty and Delia, the subjects of the images, had criticized Harvard for exploiting these dehumanizing photos without consent. The photographs, taken in 1850 under the direction of Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz to promote racist pseudoscience, will now be housed in a setting that honors their historical significance. While the settlement includes an undisclosed financial component, Harvard has not acknowledged Lanier's familial connection or its historical complicity in slavery.

https://apnews.com/article/harvard-university-slave-photos-d9c01b7926bba2a686ff325617e93ce9