NPR

Harvard Profits From Photos Of Slaves, Lawsuit Claims

Tamara Lanier, the descendant of an enslaved man known as Renty, is suing Harvard for damages. She wants the university to return the photos of her ancestor.
A sample image of "Papa" Renty and his daughter Delia, taken in 1850, are displayed during a press conference announcing a lawsuit against Harvard University on Wednesday in New York City.

The enslaved man's name was Renty. His image adorns the cover of a Harvard publication that the university sells for $40.

Tamara Lanier says "Papa Renty" is the patriarch of her family. And in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, she says Harvard is using those photos without permission — and in so doing, profiting from photos taken by a racist professor determined to prove the inferiority of black

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