Lawsuit against Harvard over images of enslaved ancestors dismissed

Josh Koskoff, of Westport, is one of two attorneys representing Tamara Lanier

A Connecticut woman’s lawsuit calling for Harvard University to give up ownership of photographs of her enslaved ancestors has been dismissed by a Massachusetts judge.

The lawsuit, filed by Norwich resident Tamara Lanier in March 2019, focuses on photographs of two enslaved people taken in the 1850s, thought to be among the earliest images of enslaved people in the U.S., the Associated Press reported.

The photos show two people, identified as Renty, and his daughter Delia, who were photographed by a Harvard professor who intended to show African-Americans were inferior to whites, according to the news service.

Lanier’s suit argued ownership of the images should pass to her, but on Tuesday, Judge Camille Sarrouf ruled ownership of the photographs remains with the photographer.

Josh Koskoff, one of two attorneys representing Lanier, said he plans to file an appeal.

“We expected that this case would have to be decided by a Massachusetts higher court because it’s a case of first impression, a groundbreaking case regarding the possession and ownership by Harvard of images of Lanier’s ancestors who were enslaved,” said Koskoff, of Westport.

Koskoff is representing families of victims in the Sandy Hook shooting in their lawsuit against the gunmaker Remington.

“You would have never believed it could be true if it were a movie. It’s really a story of perseverance and courage in the face of adversity, not just in one generation, but in multiple generations,” he said.

Lanier, who claims to be Renty’s great-greatgranddaughter, is also being represented by Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney.

Renty was enslaved and brought over from Congo by ship, according to Koskoff. Despite it being illegal, he taught himself to read and write.

Louis Agassiz, a Harvard professor, commissioned the photos as part of experiments by Harvard scientists seeking to prove Black people were inferior to whites, said Koskoff.

“It was incredibly perverse that they made him and his daughter subjects of these images that Harvard still uses until this day and uses for their glorification,” he said.

Reached Saturday, Lanier said the case goes beyond a photographer’s rights, saying her suit is “about cultural appropriation, about sexual exploitation, an illegal act.”

“What Harvard did was a crime. And Renty and Delia are crime victims. I want people to see them from that perspective,” Lanier said.

John Shishmanian / Associated Press In this July 17, 2018, photo, Tamara Lanier holds an 1850 photograph of a South Carolina slave named Renty, who Lanier said is her family’s patriarch. The portrait was commissioned by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, whose ideas were used to support the enslavement of Africans in the United States. In March 2019, Lanier filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts demanding that Harvard turn over the photo and pay damages. A judge dismissed the suit this month.