My Thoughts on Harvard and its Legacy of Slavery
The Harvard University shield hanging over the steps to Widener Library.
Last weekend, I had the privilege of traveling to Boston with my husband and parents to participate in Harvard University’s Commencement. These graduation exercises were specifically organized for the classes of 2020 and 2021 since COVID-19 prevented in-person ceremonies for our respective classes. I was happy to have my “Harvard Moment;” I know my parents were beyond proud to watch their youngest child walk across a stage under crimson Harvard banners. If you told them this 20 years ago, they wouldn’t believe it. At the same time, being a Black Woman graduate of Harvard didn’t erase the wariness I felt about Harvard’s history. This blog post is a brief snapshot of Harvard’s legacy of slavery, the work that a team of researchers are doing to spread awareness and make systemic amends, and my thoughts about it all.
Titus, Venus, Juba, and Bilhah. Four names of individuals — out of many — who were enslaved by Presidents/leadership/faculty at Harvard University. These enslaved people built the campus and maintained it; fed students; were caregivers of entire families. Harvard, like many other American schools, was complicit in and benefited from the institution of slavery.
As a descendent of enslaved people and a graduate of Harvard, I’ve been having to reckon with this. I enjoyed my graduate experience at Harvard AND at the same time, I feel disillusioned with many aspects of American society. Slavery is woven into the fabric of the United States and it’s challenging to identify parts of American society that slavery hasn’t touched.
Harvard has published an extensive report online, titled Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery. I encourage you to take a look at it since I can’t even begin to capture all of the report’s details in this caption. Here are some of the key findings:
”Slavery—of Indigenous and of African people—was an integral part of life in Massachusetts and at Harvard during the colonial era.”
”Through connections to multiple donors, the University had extensive financial ties to, and profited from, slavery during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.”
”These donors helped the University build a national reputation, hire faculty, support students, grow its collections, expand its physical footprint, and develop its infrastructure.”
”Research to advance eugenic theories also took place on campus…"
”…legacies, including racial segregation, exclusion, and discrimination, were a part of campus life well into the 20th century."
Acknowledging and sharing these truths is important because New England was not removed from slavery. Though the Southern states were more involved in enslaved labor en masse, the Northern states participated just as much in the economy of slavery. We must remember that the main reason why the United States has the wealth that it does — the reason why it’s known as the richest nation in the world [rich in what, exactly?]— is because it could maximize profit by not paying people for their work. And in many ways, this same dynamic continues across the nation (that’s a rant for another time).
The study includes recommendations for reparative action. Here are just a few (citing directly from the report):
Engage and Support Descendant Communities by Leveraging Harvard’s Excellence in Education
Develop Enduring Partnerships with Black Colleges and Universities
Identify, Engage, and Support Direct Descendants
Honor, Engage, and Support Native Communities
Establish an Endowed Legacy of Slavery Fund to Support the University’s Reparative Efforts
Harvard’s motto is VERITAS, which is Latin for “truth.” Reckoning with these truths isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. It’s the right thing to do, no matter how guilty it can make people feel. Now, I often fall into [Afro]pessimism. I’m not confident that these recommendations can be implemented to the extent that it makes a systemic difference. I mean, when you’re working against white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism, any goal is a lofty one. Alas, nothing can get accomplished if we don’t try.
