Latest news with #RentyTaylor
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Harvard agrees to transfer early photos of enslaved people to African American museum
Harvard University has agreed to transfer possession of 19th-century photographs of an enslaved man and his daughter to the International African American Museum in South Carolina as part of a settlement with a woman who says she is a descendant of the enslaved individuals. Tamara Lanier, who lives in Norwich, Connecticut, who says that she is the great-great-great granddaughter of Renty Taylor and his daughter, Delia Taylor – two of the enslaved people featured in the daguerreotypes taken in 1850 that Harvard owned – sued the university in 2019 over 'wrongful seizure, possession and expropriation' of the images, which she says were taken without her ancestors' consent. In 2022, the Massachusetts supreme court ruled that Lanier could not claim ownership over the images, since she was not a descendant of the photographer or the photograph's owners, CBS reported, but it ruled that she could pursue damages and sue Harvard for emotional distress. The daguerreotypes, considered among the earliest known photographs of enslaved people, depict Renty Taylor and his daughter, Delia. They were taken in 1850, and were part of a collection commissioned by Harvard professor Louis Agassiz at the time who sought to use them to promote a pseudoscientific, white supremacist theory that falsely asserts that white people are genetically superior. In the photos, Renty Taylor was stripped nude and photographed, while Delia was naked from the waist up. This week, the years-long legal battle between Lanier and Harvard came to a close. As part of the settlement, a lawyer for Lanier said that the 175-year-old images will be transferred from Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, which is the state where Renty Taylor and Delia were enslaved when the photographs were taken. 'This is a moment in history where the sons and daughters of stolen ancestors can stand with pride and rightfully proclaim a victory for reparations,' Lanier said on Wednesday. 'This pilfered property, images taken without dignity or consent and used to promote a racist pseudoscience will now be repatriated to a home where their stories can be told and their humanity can be restored.' Lanier's attorney Joshua Koskoff, told the Associated Press that the resolution is an 'unprecedented' victory. '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,' Koskoff said. Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Another of Lanier's attorneys, Benjamin Crump, also said that the agreement also includes a confidential monetary settlement, according to CBS News. In a statement, Harvard spokesman James Chisholm told CBS News: 'Harvard University has long been eager to place the Zealy Daguerreotypes with another museum or other public institution to put them in the appropriate context and increase access to them for all Americans. Now that this lawsuit has been resolved, Harvard can move forward towards that goal. 'While we are grateful to Ms. Lanier for sparking important conversations about these images, her claim to ownership of the daguerreotypes created a complex situation, especially because Harvard has not been able to confirm that Ms. Lanier is related to the individuals in the daguerreotypes' he added.
NBC News
3 days ago
- General
- NBC News
Harvard to give 175-year-old photos of enslaved people to South Carolina museum
Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs of Renty Taylor and his daughter Delia. The photos were believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people and will be given to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with one of the 29, 2025
AsiaOne
3 days ago
- General
- AsiaOne
Harvard to relinquish slave photos to resolve descendant's lawsuit, World News
BOSTON — Harvard University has agreed to give up ownership of photos of an enslaved father and his daughter who were forced to be photographed in 1850 for a racist study by a professor trying to prove the inferiority of Black people to resolve a lawsuit by one of their descendants. The settlement was announced on Wednesday (May 28) by the legal team representing Tamara Lanier, who had waged a six-year legal battle over what she alleged was its wrongful claim of ownership over photos that were taken without her ancestors' consent. The photos will not go to Lanier as part of the settlement, but instead will be turned over along with pictures of five other enslaved people to the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. "Harvard played a role in the darkest chapter in American history," Lanier said in a statement. "This is a small step in the right direction towards fully acknowledging that history and working to rectify it." Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard said it had long been eager to place the photos with another public institution "to put them in the appropriate context and increase access to them for all Americans". "This settlement now allows us to move forward towards that goal," the school said. The settlement comes as Harvard fights in court against efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to terminate billions of dollars in grant funding and end its ability to enrol foreign students. The lawsuit concerned images depicting Renty Taylor and his daughter Delia, slaves on a South Carolina plantation who were forced to disrobe for photos taken for a racist study by Harvard Professor Louis Agassiz. The photos were being kept at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology on Harvard's campus when Lanier sued in 2019. A judge in Massachusetts initially dismissed the case. But the state's highest court revived it in 2022, saying she had plausibly alleged Harvard was negligent and recklessly caused her to suffer emotional distress. Justice Scott Kafker, writing for the court, said Harvard "cavalierly" dismissed Lanier's claims of an ancestral link and disregarded her requests for information about how it was using the pictures, including when the school used Renty Taylor's image on a book cover. He called the pictures' creation "horrific" and said Harvard had "responsibilities to the descendants of the individuals coerced into having their half-naked images captured in the daguerreotypes". [[nid:718353]]
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Harvard relinquishes possession of slave photos after a 15-year dispute
Centuries-old images of an enslaved man and his daughter, believed to be the earliest-known photographs of enslaved people in the United States, were relinquished by Harvard University after a 15-year-long legal battle. Connecticut woman Tamara Lanier says she is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Renty Taylor, an enslaved man photographed nude alongside his daughter in the winter of 1850 in images commissioned by a Harvard scientist, Louis Agassiz. She sued Harvard for ownership of the photos in 2019.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Harvard to relinquish slave photos to resolve descendant's lawsuit
By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) -Harvard University has agreed to give up ownership of photos of an enslaved father and his daughter who were forced to be photographed in 1850 for a racist study by a professor trying to prove the inferiority of Black people to resolve a lawsuit by one of their descendants. The settlement was announced on Wednesday by the legal team representing Tamara Lanier, who had waged a six-year legal battle over what she alleged was its wrongful claim of ownership over photos that were taken without her ancestors' consent. The two photos will not go to Lanier as part of the settlement, but instead will be turned over along with pictures of five other enslaved people to the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. The settlement was first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by a spokesperson for Lanier's legal team. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The settlement comes at a sensitive moment for Harvard, as the university fights in court against efforts by Republican President Donald Trump's administration to terminate billions of dollars in grant funding and end its ability to enroll foreign students. The lawsuit concerned images that depict Renty Taylor and his daughter Delia, slaves on a South Carolina plantation who were forced to disrobe for photos taken for a racist study by Harvard Professor Louis Agassiz. The photos were being kept at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology on Harvard's campus when Lanier, a descendant of Taylor, sued in 2019. A state court judge in Massachusetts initially dismissed the case. But the state's highest court revived it in 2022, saying she had plausibly alleged that Harvard was negligent and had recklessly caused her to suffer emotional distress. Justice Scott Kafker, writing for the court at the time, said Harvard had "cavalierly" dismissed Lanier's claims of an ancestral link and disregarded her requests for information about how it was using the images, including when the school used Renty Taylor's image on a book cover. He said Harvard's complicity in the "horrific" creation of the pictures meant it had "responsibilities to the descendants of the individuals coerced into having their half-naked images captured in the daguerreotypes."
