Harvard agrees to transfer photos of enslaved people to black history museum

The settlement comes after a 15 year legal battle between the university and a Connecticut woman who claims she is a descendant of the people pictured.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveHarvard agrees to transfer photos of enslaved people to black history museum16 hours agoShareSaveKwasi Gyamfi AsieduBBC NewsShareSaveReutersTamara Lanier, pictured in 2018, has waged a 15 year battle with Harvard over the photosHarvard University has agreed to hand over a set of historic photos believed to be among the earliest depicting enslaved people in the United States.

The agreement ends a long legal battle between the institution and Tamara Lanier, an author from Connecticut who argues she is a descendant of two people shown in the photos.

The images, taken in 1850, will be transferred to the International African American Museum in South Carolina, where the people shown in the photos were enslaved.

Harvard said it had always hoped the photos would be given to another museum. Ms Lanier said she was "ecstatic" with the result.

The images are daguerreotypes, a very early form of modern-day photographs and were taken 15 years before the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery.