Harvard University has agreed to relinquish a collection of 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest images of enslaved people, as part of a settlement with Tamara Lanier, who claims to be a descendant of the subjects, as per The AP.
The historic daguerreotypes, taken in 1850 and featuring Lanier’s great-great-great-grandfather Renty—whom she calls “Papa Renty”—and his daughter Delia, will be transferred from Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to the International African American Museum in South Carolina. The state is where the photos were originally taken and where Renty and Delia were enslaved.
The settlement ends a 15-year legal battle initiated by Lanier to gain control of the images, which are considered a precursor to modern photography. Lanier’s attorney, Joshua Koskoff, called the agreement an “unprecedented” victory for descendants of enslaved Americans and praised her persistent fight for justice and recognition.
Harvard stated it has been working for years to transfer ownership of the images to ensure they are preserved with proper context and made more accessible to the public.
During a ceremony in Boston, Lanier held a portrait of Papa Renty alongside Susanna Moore, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, who commissioned the photos. Agassiz’s discredited theories on racial differences were historically used to justify slavery in the U.S.
Both women, connected by this painful history yet united by the settlement, expressed hope that the photos will now be treated with dignity and respect.
