Harvard Agrees In Settlement To Relinquish Early Slave Photos To Descendants After 15-Year Battle

In a powerful victory for Black families and the rightful telling of history, Harvard University will turn over 175-year-old photographs of Renty and Delia — enslaved ancestors of Tamara Lanier — to the International African American Museum in South Carolina. Lanier, who identifies Renty as “Papa Renty,” spent 15 years fighting for the return of the images, taken in 1850 by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, who sought to “prove” racial inferiority through these exploitative daguerreotypes. “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,” said Lanier’s attorney Joshua Koskoff.

The images were part of Agassiz’s quest for “racial purity” and showed Renty and Delia posed shirtless, robbed of their dignity and reduced to “research specimens.” In 2019, Lanier sued Harvard for “wrongful seizure, possession and expropriation” of these images, highlighting the university’s “exploitation” and financial gain through licensing fees. “To Agassiz, Renty and Delia were nothing more than research specimens,” the lawsuit states, exposing the violence of their forced participation in these images.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court sided with Lanier in 2022, recognizing “Harvard’s complicity in the horrific actions surrounding the creation of the daguerreotypes” and affirming that “Harvard’s present obligations cannot be divorced from its past abuses.” As part of this landmark settlement, the South Carolina museum will not only house the images but include Lanier in shaping how their story is told. “The bravery, tenacity, and grace shown by Ms. Lanier throughout the long and arduous process… is a model for us all,” said Dr. Tonya M. Matthews, CEO of the International African American Museum.

This is a moment that speaks to the power of reclaiming our history and demanding accountability. As Koskoff said, “everybody has the right to tell the story of their own families,” a truth that resonates deeply for Black communities too often denied our narratives and legacies. Although Harvard still hasn’t acknowledged its direct ties to these images or to the broader horrors of slavery, this transfer ensures that Renty and Delia’s humanity will now be honored by those who cherish them most.

Link: ABCNews