Lanier Courthouse Photo 2023

Middlesex Superior Court Greenlights Discovery in Suit Against Harvard Over Images of Enslaved People

A revived lawsuit filed by Tamara K. Lanier against Harvard over its possession of daguerreotypes she alleges are of her enslaved ancestors will proceed to discovery, a Massachusetts state judge ruled at a hearing last Thursday.

Harvard Honors Black Alum Edwin Jourdain Jr. With Portrait in Winthrop House

Harvard honored Edwin Bush Jourdain Jr., Class of 1921, a Black College graduate who led efforts to dismantle the University’s segregationist freshman dorm policy, with a portrait in Winthrop House’s Senior Common Room.

Nebraska Geography Professor Discusses Fossil Dispossession of Sioux Lands at Geological Museum Lecture

Lawrence W. Bradley, an environmental geologist at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, argued in a Thursday lecture that fossils taken from Sioux lands should be considered dispossessed Sioux property.

Mass. Superior Court Sets Date to Hear Emotional Distress Lawsuit Over Images of Enslaved People in Peabody Museum

Amid a legal battle over Harvard’s possession of images of enslaved people, Middlesex County Superior Court is set to hear a revived emotional distress lawsuit on April 13 brought by Tamara K. Lanier against the University.

‘This is Not Who My Papa Renty is’: Tamara Lanier to Publish Book About Ancestral Research on Enslaved People

Tamara K. Lanier, who is currently pursuing an emotional distress lawsuit against the University for its possession of those images, is slated to publish a book about her genealogical research and the emotional journey involved in claiming ownership of the daguerreotypes.

Harvard Students Demonstrate for Denaming in Winthrop House Dining Hall, Citing Ties to Slavery

Harvard students led a demonstration in Winthrop House’s dining hall to push for the house’s denaming during dinner on Sunday, citing both John Winthrops’ ties to slavery.

Harvard Portraiture Project to Honor Black Lacrosse Player Lucien Alexis Jr. ’42

Lucien V. Alexis Jr. ’42, the first Black player on the Harvard Lacrosse team, will be honored in a commissioned painting as a part of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations Portraiture Project, the Foundation announced at an event on Feb. 13.

Med School Panel Discusses Harvard Human Remains Collections at Black History Month Event

An interdisciplinary panel of Harvard affiliates discussed the ethics of possessing human remains for research, education, or exhibition in University collections during a Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics webinar on Thursday.

Harvard Appoints Committee for Legacy of Slavery Memorial Project

Thirteen Harvard affiliates will spearhead the University’s Legacy of Slavery memorial project, which is tasked with memorializing the enslaved people who played a formative role in shaping Harvard, the school announced Wednesday.

Harvard Peabody Museum to Return a Gitnagun’aks House Post to Gitxaała Nation in Latest Repatriation Effort

Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology signed an agreement last month to return a house post to the Gitxaała Nation, a First Nations government located at Kitkatla, British Columbia, per a Jan. 25 press release from the tribal group.

Brenda Tindal Appointed Harvard FAS Inaugural Chief Campus Curator

Brenda D. Tindal will serve as the inaugural chief campus curator for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences starting Feb. 13, FAS Dean and University President-elect Claudine Gay wrote in an email Wednesday.

Harvard Peabody Museum Transfers Ownership of Ancestral Kayak to Alutiiq Museum as Part of Ongoing Repatriation Efforts

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology recently transferred ownership of an ancestral Alutiiq, or Sugpiaq, kayak to the Alutiiq Museum, a cultural museum and tribal repository in Kodiak, Alaska.

Scientists, Artists Discuss Henry David Thoreau Plant Collection

A panel of artists and scientists involved in creating an exhibit on the plant collection of Henry Thoreau explored the intersection between art and botany as a means to inspire conversations about climate in a Harvard Museum of Natural History event on Thursday.

Federal Judge David Stras Reflects on the Holocaust and First Amendment at Harvard Law School Talk

Federal judge David R. Stras reflected on his grandparents’ experience in the Holocaust and its implications for the First Amendment at a Harvard Law School lecture Tuesday afternoon.