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USA Today
2 days ago
- General
- USA Today
Harvard will send early photos of enslaved people to a Black museum in Charleston
Harvard will send early photos of enslaved people to a Black museum in Charleston Harvard University will transfer photos of enslaved people to a S.C. museum after legal challenges from a woman who believes she is a descendant Show Caption Hide Caption Museum in Charleston showcases Black history and experiences The International African American Museum president and CEO Tonya Matthews talk about the museum's role in showcasing Black history and experiences. After years of legal challenges, photos of an enslaved man and his daughter held at a Harvard University museum will be transferred to an African American museum in South Carolina where the family is believed to have lived. The nude photos of Renty and his daughter, Delia, taken in March 1850 against their will for a Harvard University professor, were the subject of a 2019 lawsuit filed by Tamara Lanier against Harvard. The photos commissioned by Louis Agassiz, a 19th-century Harvard biologist, are believed to be the earliest photos of American slaves. The images, known as daguerreotypes and taken in a South Carolina studio, were used to promote racist beliefs. Lanier of Connecticut has complained that Harvard has profited over the years off of the photos. "Harvard played a role in the darkest chapter in American history,'' she said in a statement. "This is a small step in the right direction towards fully acknowledging that history and working to rectify it.' Lanier, who believes she is a descendant of Renty, has said her extensive research proved what her mother had told her for years about the family connection. But she said Harvard wouldn't acknowledge that. "I've talked to people all over the state, all over the country, all over the world, and everybody is just seemingly astonished at this discovery," Lanier told USA TODAY in 2019. "Everybody but Harvard." The pictures were held at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology Harvard officials said the university has not been able to confirm that Lanier is related to the individuals in the daguerreotypes. Still, officials said, they are grateful to Lanier for 'sparking important conversations about these images.'' The university has looked to place the daguerreotypes with another museum or other public institution to put them in the appropriate context and increase access to them, said James Chisholm, director of media relations for Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. 'Now that this lawsuit has been resolved, Harvard can move forward towards that goal," he said in a statement. 'Throughout this process, Harvard has been committed to stewarding the daguerreotypes in a responsible manner and finding an institutional home for them where their historical significance is appreciated and contributes to a greater understanding of their place in our nation's history." In 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Lanier could sue for emotional distress, but that she could not claim ownership of the photos. Chisholm said because of the court ruling, the university is responsible for transferring the daguerreotypes. It is not clear yet when they will be transferred. The photos will be transferred to the International African American Museum in Charleston. The two-year-old museum houses artifacts of slavery and features the history enslaved Africans in the state. Tonya Matthews, president and CEO of the museum, said the images' return to South Carolina has been '175 years in the making.' She said the museum will host a welcome home ceremony for the artifacts. 'It is critical that images such as these never be forgotten, abused, or have their stories slip into untold history," she said in a statement. 'It is a weighty privilege to become home to these challenging, but precious artifacts. " Harvard has acknowledged its past history of supporting slavery in the United States and Caribbean islands. Some buildings on campus were funded by slave owners, according to a 2022 report published by the university. The Peabody Museum also has some remains of enslaved Africans and Native Americans. Contributed: Joey Garrison
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- General
- Toronto Star
Harvard agrees to relinquish early photos of enslaved people, ending a legal battle
BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with a woman who says she is one of the subjects' descendants. The photos of the subjects identified by Tamara Lanier as her great-great-great-grandfather Renty, whom she calls 'Papa Renty,' and his daughter Delia will be transferred from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to the International African American Museum in South Carolina, the state where they were enslaved in 1850 when the photos were taken, a lawyer for Lanier said Wednesday.
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Harvard settles lawsuit over enslaved ancestor images
Harvard University (File photo) NEW YORK: Harvard University has agreed to settle a deeply emotional dispute over who has the rights to images of enslaved Africans taken in 1850 by a professor who sought to support a racist theory. The daguerrotypes, a precursor to modern photographs, are considered to be the earliest known images of Black American slaves, who were posed nude and semi-nude "without consent, dignity or compensation," a 2019 lawsuit stated. The Cambridge institution has agreed to relinquish the images and has offered plaintiff Tamara Lanier a confidential monetary settlement. Lanier says she is a descendant of a slave known only by his first name, Renty, who was photographed nude, and his daughter Delia, who was photographed nude from the waist up, in images commissioned by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz as supposed evidence of Black inferiority. The images were taken in South Carolina, and Lanier is advocating for them to be transferred to the International African American Museum there. Lanier accused the university of using them for advertising and commercial purposes, and denounced the use of Renty's image on a cover of a $40 anthropology book it published in 2017. "Since Black Americans were first brought to this country in chains, our pain and trauma have been exploited for capitalistic gain," said Lanier. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like IIMK Strategic Management IIMK ASMP Apply Now Undo Lanier claimed rights to the images 15 years ago, but Harvard has long-disputed the claim that she is Renty's great-great-great-granddaughter. "As descendants of slaves, familial history and well-documented genealogy are a luxury that many Black Americans do not have," Lanier said, who relied on her family's oral history to determine the connection in lineage. In a statement on the settlement, Harvard said they have "long been eager" to steward "the daguerrotypes in a responsible manner." In his time Agassiz, a Swiss-born biologist, was a renowned scientist who worked in geology. But Lanier's attorney Ben Crump said Agassiz also supported polygenism, which was "used to justify both the ongoing enslavement of Black people prior to the Civil War and their segregation afterward." The daguerrotypes were in the possession of Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to date. "Harvard played a role in the darkest chapter in American history," Lanier said. "This is a small step in the right direction towards fully acknowledging that history and working to rectify it." The stain of Agassiz's work has been controversial elsewhere, too. He had an elementary school named after him near Harvard -- but local residents successfully demanded the name be changed to honor a long-serving Black principal Maria Louise Baldwin in 2002, citing his scientific racism.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Harvard settles lawsuit over enslaved ancestor images
Harvard University has agreed to settle a deeply emotional dispute over who has the rights to images of enslaved Africans taken in 1850 by a professor who sought to support a racist theory. The daguerrotypes, a precursor to modern photographs, are considered to be the earliest known images of Black American slaves, who were posed nude and semi-nude "without consent, dignity or compensation," a 2019 lawsuit stated. The Cambridge institution has agreed to relinquish the images and has offered plaintiff Tamara Lanier a confidential monetary settlement. Lanier says she is a descendant of a slave known only by his first name, Renty, who was photographed nude, and his daughter Delia, who was photographed nude from the waist up, in images commissioned by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz as supposed evidence of Black inferiority. The images were taken in South Carolina, and Lanier is advocating for them to be transferred to the International African American Museum there. Lanier accused the university of using them for advertising and commercial purposes, and denounced the use of Renty's image on a cover of a $40 anthropology book it published in 2017. "Since Black Americans were first brought to this country in chains, our pain and trauma have been exploited for capitalistic gain," said Lanier. Lanier claimed rights to the images 15 years ago, but Harvard has long-disputed the claim that she is Renty's great-great-great-granddaughter. "As descendants of slaves, familial history and well-documented genealogy are a luxury that many Black Americans do not have," Lanier said, who relied on her family's oral history to determine the connection in lineage. In a statement on the settlement, Harvard said they have "long been eager" to steward "the daguerrotypes in a responsible manner." In his time Agassiz, a Swiss-born biologist, was a renowned scientist who worked in geology. But Lanier's attorney Ben Crump said Agassiz also supported polygenism, which was "used to justify both the ongoing enslavement of Black people prior to the Civil War and their segregation afterward." The daguerrotypes were in the possession of Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to date. "Harvard played a role in the darkest chapter in American history," Lanier said. "This is a small step in the right direction towards fully acknowledging that history and working to rectify it." The stain of Agassiz's work has been controversial elsewhere, too. He had an elementary school named after him near Harvard -- but local residents successfully demanded the name be changed to honor a long-serving Black principal Maria Louise Baldwin in 2002, citing his scientific racism. arb/gl/sla/jgc
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Harvard Will Relinquish Photos of Enslaved People to Museum After Legal Battle with Distant Relative
Harvard University will relinquish photographs of seven enslaved people to the International African American Museum The settlement comes between Harvard and Tamara Lanier after a six-year legal battle Two of the photos depict Lanier's alleged ancestors, Renty and Delia, in South CarolinaHarvard University will relinquish photographs of enslaved people to the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, S.C. in a settlement reached on Wednesday, May 28. The Ivy League institution previously housed the images, believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved African people in the United States, in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. The photos' subjects, identified as Renty and his daughter Delia, were taken in approximately 1850, when they were enslaved. The daguerreotype portraits, which are 175 years old, were identified by Tamara Lanier as her great-great-great-grandfather and his child. The settlement between Harvard and Lanier comes after a six-year legal battle, per the New York Times. Lanier filed the suit on the basis that her ancestors did not consent to being photographed. The outlet reports that the images were obtained by the university for Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz to use as evidence for a discredited pseudoscientific theory of Black racial inferiority in defense of slavery. Outside of the photographs of Renty and Delia, there are five other portraits of enslaved people that will be relinquished to the IAAM. 'I have been at odds with Harvard over the custody and care of my enslaved ancestors, and now I can rest assured that my enslaved ancestors will be traveling to a new home,' Lanier told the New York Times. She continued, 'They will be returning to their home state where this all began, and they will be placed in an institution that can celebrate their humanity.' James Chisholm, a spokesman for Harvard, told the outlet, 'Harvard has been committed to stewarding the daguerreotypes in a responsible manner and finding an institutional home for them where their historical significance is appreciated." Joshua Koskoff, Lanier's attorney, told the Associated Press that this outcome of the case was "unprecedented." Koskoff elaborated, 'I think it's one of one in American history, because of the combination of unlikely features: to have a case that dates back 175 years, to win control over images dating back that long of enslaved people — that's never happened before." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The AP reports that Susanna Moore, a descendant of Agassiz, was also in support of the settlement. Moore told the outlet that her ancestor's study was a 'deeply racist project.' She continued to say, 'This victory reminds us that the meaning of such objects in museums can and should change. This woman standing next to me, she knew all along she was not small and she was not alone.' Moore and Lanier have become close personal friends. Lanier told the Times of Moore's family, 'I have vacationed with them. I have spent time with them. We stay connected." IAAM CEO Tonya Matthews said in a statement to the AP, 'The bravery, tenacity, and grace shown by Ms. Lanier throughout the long and arduous process of returning these critical pieces of Renty and Delia's story to South Carolina is a model for us all." PEOPLE reached out to the IAAM, but did not immediately hear back. Read the original article on People
