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Legacy of Slavery

Sunset Over Johnston Gate

Ten Stories That Shaped 2024

At Harvard, 2024 began with an ending — the chaotic close of Claudine Gay’s short-lived presidency. It would not be a quiet year. Pro-Palestine student protesters staged an encampment in Harvard Yard. Congress expanded its investigation into campus antisemitism, issuing threats alongside blistering reports. Amid it all, Alan M. Garber ’76 quietly ascended from the interim presidency to a permanent post at Harvard’s helm. Here, The Crimson looks back at 10 stories that shaped the University, and Cambridge, in 2024.

Harvard Yard
FAS

‘Opportunity to Experiment’: Visiting HBCU Scholars Praise Harvard’s Visiting Professorship Program

Four visiting professors from historically Black colleges and universities praised Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Visiting Professorship Program for offering the opportunity and funding to explore their scholarly work.

Massachusetts Hall Entrance
Race

What’s Next for Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery Initiative?

When the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative’s Remembrance Program identified more than 100 living descendants of enslaved people owned by University affiliates, it marked just the beginning of what will likely be a yearslong process to engage and support those descendants.

Harriet Jacobs House
City Politics

The Fight to Preserve Harriet Jacobs’ Legacy in Cambridge

A historical preservation committee wants to maintain the home of a formerly enslaved woman as a memorial and museum. The owner wants to build a boutique hotel. It’s a tenuous marriage.

Arnold Arboretum Renaming
City Politics

Harvard Arnold Arboretum Renames Bussey Street to Flora Way in Honor of Enslaved Woman

Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum formally renamed Bussey Street — named after a merchant whose wealth came from slave-produced goods — to Flora Way at an unveiling ceremony Saturday.

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
Boston

Street in Harvard Arboretum to Be Renamed Flora Way After Enslaved Woman

Boston will rename Bussey Street — originally named after Benjamin Bussey, a merchant who donated the land for Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum and who amassed his fortune trading goods produced by enslaved individuals.

Radcliffe Institute Remarks
Central Administration

Garber Praises Harvard Legacy of Slavery Initiative at Radcliffe Anniversary

University President Alan M. Garber ’76 praised Harvard Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin for her leadership on the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative and his academic freedom working group at a Radcliffe event on Thursday.

Cicely's Grave
Central Administration

Harvard Affiliates Enslaved Over 300 People, University Researchers Find

The Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program has identified more than 300 enslaved individuals who were owned by Harvard affiliates — a significantly higher figure than what the University initially disclosed in its 2022 report.

HLOS Graphic
Central Administration

Infighting and Pressure From Above: Inside Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery Initiative

The $100 million Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative is meant to redress the University’s historic ties to slavery. But over the last two years, the project has been hampered by internal tension, alleged pushback over its scope, and leadership turnover.

Massachusetts Hall in Harvard Yard
Central Administration

Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery Initiative Announces New Memorial Committee Co-Chairs

Faculty of Arts and Sciences chief campus curator Brenda Tindal and Graduate School of Design professor Eric Höweler will serve as the new co-chairs of Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery Memorial Project.

Massachusetts Hall
Central Administration

Executive Director of Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery Initiative Suddenly Resigns

Roeshana Moore-Evans, the executive director of Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery initiative, suddenly announced her resignation on Friday, becoming the third member of leadership to cut ties with the effort in less than one month.

Massachusetts Hall in Harvard Yard
Central Administration

Co-Chairs of Harvard Legacy of Slavery Memorial Committee Slam University in Resignation Letter

The co-chairs of Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery memorial project committee slammed the University in their resignation letter, alleging that their timeline was rushed by administrators.

Massachusetts Hall in Harvard Yard
Central Administration

Chairs of Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery Memorial Committee Resign Over Timeline Disagreement

Tracy K. Smith ’94 and Dan I. Byers resigned as co-chairs of Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery memorial committee over frustrations that senior Harvard administrators were trying to rush their process.

Peabody Museum
Museums

‘Appalling’: Keynote Speaker at Legacy of Slavery Symposium Calls for Faster Repatriation of Indigenous Remains

Tara Houska, a tribal attorney and activist who served as the keynote speaker during the second day of Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery Symposium, condemned the University’s continued possession of Indigenous objects and ancestral remains during an interview following the event.

Nikole Hannah-Jones at Legacy of Slavery Event
Central Administration

‘A Joke’: Nikole Hannah-Jones Says Harvard Should Spend More on Legacy of Slavery Initiative

Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and creator of the 1619 Project, slammed Harvard’s $100 million commitment to its Legacy of Slavery initiative as “a joke” during her keynote talk at a University symposium on Tuesday evening.

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