Harvard University will transfer a collection of historic photos believed to be among the earliest images of enslaved people in the U.S. The decision marks the end of a protracted legal dispute with Tamara Lanier, who claims descent from individuals shown in the photographs, taken in 1850, 15 years prior to the abolition of slavery through the 13th Amendment. These images, now set to be housed in the International African American Museum in South Carolina, were initially rediscovered in 1976 at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. They portray individuals identified as Alfred, Delia, Drana, Fassena, Jack, Jem, and Renty and were commissioned as part of discredited research by Harvard's zoologist Louis Agassiz, aimed at supporting the now-debunked theory of polygenism.

Harvard expressed hopes for the images to be placed in a fitting institutional context, acknowledging the complexity surrounding their ownership. Although a Massachusetts court upheld a previous ruling dismissing Lanier's claim to ownership, it affirmed the university's complicity in the actions leading to the photographs' creation, stating that Harvard's current role cannot be separated from its historical ties to slavery.

Expressing her joy over the settlement, Ms. Lanier emphasized the significance of repatriating the images to South Carolina, referring to it as a "homecoming ceremony." The president of the South Carolina museum highlighted their commitment to displaying the images with truth and empathy, aiming to foster dialogue about the painful history of slavery and its lasting repercussions.