BOSTON — As part of a settlement with a lady who claims to be one of the subjects’ ancestors, Harvard University will hand over 175-year-old images thought to be the first to be taken of enslaved people to a South Carolina museum dedicated to African American history.
The photos of Tamara Lanier’s great-great-great-grandfather Renty, whom she refers to as “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, where they were enslaved in 1850 when the photos were taken, according to a lawyer for Lanier on Wednesday.
The deal brings an end to a 15-year struggle between Lanier and the prestigious institution over the release of 19th-century daguerreotypes, forerunners of modern pictures. Joshua Koskoff, Lanier’s attorney, told The Associated Press that the resolution represents a “unprecedented” triumph for descendants of individuals enslaved in the United States. He also complimented his client’s years-long dedication to seek justice for the people she identified as her ancestors.
“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,” he added.
The lawsuit raised the question of whether Harvard could lawfully continue to retain horrific photographs of enslaved people who refused to participate. The Massachusetts court system ultimately ruled with Harvard on the ownership issue, but Lanier was allowed to continue pursuing emotional damages against the institution.
Harvard said Wednesday that it had long worked to cede ownership of the photographs “to put them in the appropriate context and increase access to them for all Americans.”
Negotiations between Harvard and Lanier lawyers culminated in a settlement in which the photographs were removed from Harvard’s ownership.
On Wednesday, Lanier stood arm in arm with Susanna Moore, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, who commissioned the images for the university and whose theories on racial difference were once used to justify slavery in the United States. Both great-great-granddaughters — one of enslaved people and the other of a man who exploited them — hailed the outcome.
“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 told the crowd. “This pilfered property, images taken without dignity or consent and used to promote a racist psychoscience will now be repatriated to a home where their stories can be told and their humanity can be restored.”
Moore described her ancestor’s images as a “deeply racist project.”
“This victory reminds us that the meaning of such objects in museums can and should change,” she told the crowd. “This woman standing next to me, she knew all along she was not small and she was not alone.”
A question of ownership.
In 2019, Lanier sued Harvard, stating that the photographs were obtained “without Renty’s and Delia’s consent and thus unlawfully retained.” The lawsuit accused Harvard of “exploitation” of Renty’s image during a 2017 conference and in other contexts. It claims Harvard has profited from the photos by charging a “hefty” licensing charge to duplicate them.
According to Lanier’s lawsuit, Agassiz met Renty and Delia while visiting plantations in search of racially “pure” enslaved people born in Africa. Renty and Delia were photographed from a variety of perspectives while posing shirtless.
“To Agassiz, Renty and Delia were nothing more than research specimens,” according to the claim. “The violence of compelling them to participate in a degrading exercise designed to prove their own subhuman status would not have occurred to him, let alone mattered.”
In 2021, a Massachusetts court declared that images are the photographer’s property, not the subject’s, a decision upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
While Harvard moved to dismiss the case, the state’s supreme court permitted it to proceed on Lanier’s claim for mental distress damages.
The state’s highest court acknowledged “Harvard’s complicity in the horrific actions surrounding the creation of the daguerreotypes,” and stated that “Harvard’s present obligations cannot be divorced from its past abuses.”
According to a statement, Harvard has “long been eager to place the Zealy Daguerreotypes with another museum or other public institution.”
“This settlement now allows us to move forward towards that goal,” the university stated. “While we are grateful to Ms. Lanier for sparking important conversations about these images, this was a complex situation, particularly since Harvard has not confirmed that Ms. Lanier was related to the individuals in the daguerreotypes.”
A new home for Renty and Delia
Tonya M. Matthews, CEO of the International African American Museum, described Harvard’s release of the pictures as a moment “175 years in the making.”
“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,” she said in an interview.
The South Carolina museum has committed to collaborating with Lanier and involving her in decisions on how the photos’ stories will be told.
In her case, Lanier requested that Harvard admit its involvement in slavery, listen to Lanier’s oral family history, and pay an undetermined amount in damages. The deal with Harvard announced Wednesday included an unknown cash compensation, but Koskoff said Harvard had yet to openly acknowledge Lanier’s relationship to them or its role in prolonging slavery in the United States.
“That is just left unanswered by Harvard,” he informed me. Koskoff stated that Lanier and his team “firmly support” Harvard’s current fight against President Donald Trump’s administration, which is attempting to cut billions of dollars in federal aid and prevent international students from enrolling, accusing the institution of being a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism.
“We are not here today to bash Harvard… but that doesn’t mean that they are perfect, and that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the obligation to tell a full history, even one that sheds poorly on their own veritas,” stated the professor.
He stated that Lanier is not expecting or waiting to hear from the institution, and that the settlement speaks for itself.
“In the end, the truth will find you — you can you can only hide from it for so long,” according to him. “Yes, history is written by winners. But, over time, such victors can appear to be losers.”