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Harvard University has agreed to transfer centuries-old images of an enslaved man and his daughter to the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, marking the resolution of a prolonged legal dispute initiated by Tamara Lanier. Lanier, a Connecticut resident, claimed she is descended from Renty Taylor, an enslaved man featured in the images.

The photographs, thought to be the earliest-known of enslaved individuals in the U.S., were commissioned in 1850 by Harvard scientist Louis Agassiz as part of a discredited theory called "polygenism," which wrongly asserted the inferiority of African-descended people. The images were discovered in the attic of Harvard's Peabody Museum in 1976 and have since been used and displayed by the university.

Lanier, who identifies as the great-great-great-granddaughter of Renty Taylor, sued Harvard in 2019, seeking ownership of the photos after the university ignored her genealogical findings. Despite a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that allowed Lanier to sue for emotional distress, the court determined she had no legal claim to the ownership of the photographs.

The newly reached settlement states that while Harvard retains the legal ownership of the images, they will be housed at the South Carolina museum. Lanier's attorney, Josh Koskoff, expressed relief that the images will be freed from Harvard's possession and hopes this will spark further interest in discovering the identities and descendants of other individuals in the photos.

Tonya M. Matthews, chief executive of the International African American Museum, welcomed the addition of the daguerreotypes to the museum's collection, acknowledging the significance and sensitivity of the artifacts. Lanier, at a news conference, hailed the decision as a triumph for all descendants of enslaved people, emphasizing the broader implications of reclaiming a stolen past.

Harvard spokesperson James Chisholm confirmed the university's commitment to ensuring the transfer of the images to South Carolina, despite the ongoing contention regarding Lanier's ancestry to the individuals depicted in the photographs.