Harvard Sued for ‘Shamelessly' Exploiting Early Photos of Slaves

This July 17, 2018 copy photo shows an 1850 Daguerreotype of Renty, a South Carolina slave who Tamara Lanier, of Norwich, Conn., said is her family's patriarch. Courtesy of Harvard University/The Norwich Bulletin via AP

A woman has filed a lawsuit against Harvard University for “shamelessly” making a profit from photos of two 19th-century slaves, despite requests to give the images to her, an alleged descendant of the slaves.

Tamara Lanier sued the institution Wednesday, March 20, for “wrongful seizure, possession and expropriation” of photographs she claims include two of her ancestors—her great-great-great-grandfather Renty and his daughter Delia.