Should Harvard Still Own My Enslaved Ancestors? Critical Conversation

The CofC Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston is hosting a Critical Conversation with Tamara Lanier on Repatriating Artifacts of North American Slavery. This Critical Conversation will take place on Tuesday, March 21 5:30-7:00 PM Septima Clark Memorial Auditorium ECTR 118

Tamara Lanier gives voice to her enslaved ancestors whose naked or partially clothed photographs were forcibly taken in 1850 outside Columbia, SC for a Harvard scientist, Louis Agassiz, who supported racist theories of polygenesis.

Lanier is currently fighting Harvard in court for the rights to these images. Her case foregrounds the need for legislation that protects the cultural property of descendants of chattel slavery in the United States.

Come see her speak about the importance of her family’s history and its relevance to national discussions about slavery and reconciliation on March 21 in Charleston!