Back to the South: Harvard Settles Lawsuit Over Enslaved Images
Nearly two centuries after the university commissioned racist scientific images of Renty and Delia, their portraits are finally being returned where they belong.
After nearly two centuries and a legal battle years in the making, images of enslaved ancestors from South Carolina are finally coming home.
On May 28th, Harvard University agreed to release the 1850 daguerreotypes of Renty and Delia Taylor — a father and daughter forced to pose naked for a racist pseudoscientific study. The images, long buried in the halls of one of America’s most powerful institutions, will now be returned to the South and displayed at the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina.
James Chisholm, a spokesperson for Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, stated: “Harvard University has long been eager to place the Zealy Daguerreotypes with another museum or other public institution to put them in the appropriate context and increase access to them for all Americans. Now that this lawsuit has been resolved, Harvard can move forward towards that goal.”
At the center of this victory is Tamara Lanier, an author and retired chief probation officer from Connecticut who has long asserted that Renty and Delia are her enslaved ancestors, has spent years demanding their release. In 2019, she filed a lawsuit against Harvard to regain control of the images. Though her initial case was dismissed in 2021, Lanier continued her campaign, drawing national attention and sparking broader questions about ownership, ethics, and reparative justice.
"After 175 years, Harvard is finally releasing the images of Renty and Delia," civil rights attorney Ben Crump wrote on Instagram. "Their dignity will now be honored at the Int'l African American Museum in Charleston. This is a powerful step toward truth, justice, and reclaiming Black humanity."
A Legacy Harvard Didn’t Want to Let Go
In 1850, under the direction of Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, Renty and Delia were photographed without consent as part of a study to support polygenism — a debunked theory claiming that different races had different origins. Agassiz sought to use the images to prove the so-called biological inferiority of Black people.
The images, taken by photographer Joseph T. Zealy, became some of the earliest known photographs of enslaved people in America. For decades, they were held by Harvard and used in publications without acknowledgment of the individuals’ humanity or Lanier's lineage.
“Harvard forced Renty and his daughter to pose for photos without consent, dignity, and compensation,” Crump said in 2020. “These were used to PROMOTE slavery and have been bound by Harvard for 169 years.”
Lanier, who has traced her lineage back to Renty, sued Harvard in 2019 for ownership of the images. Despite the deeply dehumanizing origins of the daguerreotypes, Harvard held onto the images of Renty and Delia for over 170 years — refusing to return them even when Tamara Lanier presented documented lineage and an appeal for justice.
Critics also blasted the university for profiting from the photos, charging what one commenter called a “hefty” licensing fee to reproduce them. “Harvard “capitalized on the photos,” the user stated. Another wrote: “Harvard profited from slavery, and the descendants are suffering to this day…they should give the descendants reparations.”
After a six-year legal standoff, Harvard has now agreed to a settlement, transferring the images to IAAM — marking the first time the university has relinquished control of what it once used to justify enslavement.
It’s a Southern Victory
Dr. Tonya M. Matthews, President and CEO of IAAM, spoke with pride and defiance when discussing the housing of the portraits. “This legal settlement is historic. It is ground-breaking,” she said. “And if we keep our shovels out and ready to continue digging... we’ll get down to the kind of clay and dirt that the promise of this nation was built upon.”
She also spoke to the gaping hole where justice ought to be: “There are no statutes or government policies regarding the property of enslaved people or their descendants. However, none of that gave Ms. Lanier reason to pause, and she persisted.”
The return of Renty and Delia’s portraits runs deeper than symbols. It’s a declaration that the South — long demonized and looked down on, is also deeply ancestral and a rightful place for remembrance and resistance. In Charleston, where ships once brought Africans into bondage, their faces will now stand as evidence of endurance rather than inferiority.
As Dr. Matthews put it: “I’ll be humble next week. But at the moment, I am too damn proud to lower my eyes.”
Returning to the South, Renty and Delia are no longer subjects of study. They are honored ancestors.
And they are home.
13 & South is a new publication covering news, investigative stories, and insights on social justice, policy, and systemic inequities impacting Southern Black communities. I value your insights and feedback, and invite your perspectives to contribute to future issues. Please email me at editor@13thandsouth.com. Also, feel free to connect with me on my socials! LinkedIn, Twitter, IG, BlueSky, and Threads.
Damn. One hundred and seventy-five years.