Early photos of enslaved people in 1850 head home from Harvard to South Carolina museum

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Descendants of a father and daughter featured in what are believed to be the first photographs taken of enslaved people say they are happy their family members are finally going back to South Carolina.

Harvard University turned the photos over to the International African American Museum in Charleston after a seven-year legal fight, the museum announced Wednesday.

The 1850 daguerreotypes, a precursor to modern-day photographs, are of an enslaved man named Renty, his daughter Delia and five others known as Jack, Drana, Alfred, Fassena and Jem. The photos were taken from several angles and the subjects were shirtless. The images were commissioned by a Harvard University biologist conducting racist research, which was used by slavery supporters before the Civil War.

The museum plans to preserve the daguerreotypes and display photos made from them to anchor an exhibit detailing the lives of the seven enslaved people from South Carolina.

Harvard was sued by Tamara Lanier, who said the man she calls “Papa Renty” was her great-great-great-grandfather. Lanier wanted the photos brought to the South Carolina museum because it is in the state where he was enslaved and the photos were taken, said Lanier’s attorney Joshua Koskoff.

“It's almost spiritual they are coming home. They can breathe at the museum,” Koskoff said.

The legal fight between Lanier and Harvard wound through courts in Massachusetts before the two sides reached a deal in 2025. Harvard said it had always been eager to get the pictures to a museum but fought the lawsuit because Harvard couldn't confirm Lanier was related to the people in the photos.

Lanier's lawyer said Harvard made money off the photos by licensing the images.

“Slavery robbed Renty and Delia of their humanity. But it was Harvard who robbed them of their story,” Koskoff said.

The International African American Museum was recently built at Gadsden’s Wharf in downtown Charleston where almost half of all enslaved people brought to the U.S. first stepped foot in North America.