Harvard's Slavery Researchers Allege Obstruction as Controversy Erupts
Controversy surrounds Harvard's $100m project to examine its slave ownership in Antigua, with academics alleging obstruction and campus police presence.
Harvard University's landmark $100 million initiative to investigate its historical ties to slavery has been mired in controversy, with researchers alleging obstruction and campus police involvement.
Christopher Newman, who recently completed a two-month internship with the Harvard University Archives, remembers seeing campus police officers as he walked into a human resources office on the campus in July 2024. Newman had just turned in the results of his internship, which involved creating an annotated bibliography for the 2022 Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative report – a groundbreaking study that detailed the university's connections to slavery over the course of three centuries.
On the Monday following the Friday completion of his project, Newman said he received an email from HR requesting a meeting with him. This unexpected development left him puzzled, as he did not anticipate any issues with his work.
The Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative, launched in 2022, was intended to provide a comprehensive examination of the university's ties to the institution of slavery. The project, which has a $100 million budget, has been tasked with investigating the university's historical involvement in slavery, both on its own campus and at the Antigua estate it once owned.
However, the initiative has been plagued by allegations of obstruction from researchers, who claim that they have faced significant hurdles in accessing necessary records and information. Some academics have even alleged that they have been fired or forced to quit their positions due to the challenges they have encountered.
One researcher, who spoke to The Guardian on the condition of anonymity, described the project as a
