Скачать или смотреть Lawsuit: Harvard profits from photos of slaves

(20 Mar 2019) Harvard University has "shamelessly" turned a profit from photos of two 19th-century slaves while ignoring requests to turn the photos over to the slaves' descendants, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Tamara Lanier, of Norwich, Connecticut, is suing the Ivy League school for "wrongful seizure, possession and expropriation" of images she says depict two of her ancestors. Her suit, filed in Massachusetts state court, demands that Harvard immediately turn over the photos, acknowledge her ancestry and pay an unspecified sum in damages.
Harvard spokesman Jonathan Swain said the university "has not yet been served, and with that is in no position to comment on this complaint."
At the center of the case is a series of 1850 daguerreotypes, an early type of photo, taken of two South Carolina slaves identified as Renty and his daughter, Delia.
Both were posed shirtless and photographed from several angles. The images are believed to be the earliest known photos of American slaves.
They were commissioned by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, whose theories on racial difference were used to support slavery in the U.S.
The lawsuit says Agassiz came across Renty and Delia while touring plantations in search of racially "pure" slaves born in Africa.
The suit attacks Harvard for its "exploitation" of Renty's image at a 2017 conference and in other uses.
It says Harvard has capitalized on the photos by demanding a "hefty" licensing fee to reproduce the images. It also draws attention to a book Harvard sells for $40 with Renty's portrait on the cover.
The, called "From Site to Sight: Anthropology, Photography, and the Power of Imagery," explores the use of photography in anthropology.
Among other demands, the suit asks Harvard to acknowledge that it bears responsibility for the humiliation of Renty and Delia, and that Harvard "was complicit in perpetuating and justifying the institution of slavery."
The suit says Lanier has verified her genealogical ties to Renty, whom she calls "Papa Renty." She says he is her great-great-great-grandfather.
If given the photos, Lanier said she would tell "the true story of who Renty was." But she also hopes her case will spark a national discussion over race and history.
"This case is important because it will test the moral climate of this country, and force this country to reckon with its long history of racism," Lanier said at a news conference outside the Harvard Club of New York City.
Crump, her attorney, added that the case could allow Harvard to "remove the stain from its legacy" and show it has the courage "to finally atone for slavery."
Lanier alleges that she wrote to Harvard in 2011 detailing her ties to Renty.
In a letter to Drew Faust, then Harvard's president, Lanier said she wanted to learn more about the images and how they would be used.
She was more explicit in 2017, demanding that Harvard relinquish the photos. In both cases, she said, Harvard responded but evaded her requests.

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