Harvard pays $ 100M to repair its complicity with slavery

For nearly 150 years – from the founding of the university in 1636 until the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts – Harvard presidents and others enslaved more than 70 people, according to a list of a few names. In a backlink.

“The enslaved men and women served Harvard presidents and professors and fed and cared for Harvard students,” the report said.

The university and its donors benefited from the slave trade in the 19th century, the report said.

“In these lucrative financial relations, in particular, the benefits of donors who amassed their wealth through the slave trade included the cotton produced by slaves who were in bondage.”

Harvard’s financial investments include “loans to Caribbean sugar mills, rum distillers and plantation suppliers, and investment in cotton production,” the report said.

The report states that university leaders and professors promoted “race science” and eugenics and carried out false “research” on enslaved people.

“I believe we have a moral responsibility to do what we can to address the continuing erosive effects of those historical practices on individuals, Harvard and our community,” the university president wrote.

“I think this is a step in the right direction,” Lloyd told CNN on Tuesday, adding that Harvard’s plan was “an opportunity to improve the better understanding of the history lost and stolen from African Americans as a result of slavery.” ”

The report includes recommendations for correcting that tradition “through teaching, research and service” and the $ 100 million commitment to the legacy creation of the slavery fund.

“Some of these funds will be available for current use, while the rest will support this work over time,” Pakov said.

The fund supports the implementation of the report’s recommendations, including expanding educational opportunities for the offspring of enslaved people in South America and the Caribbean, establishing partnerships with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and identifying and building relationships. With direct descendants of enslaved people who worked at Harvard.

The fund signifies the university’s approval of “liability for misconduct and sustainable repairs: forecast and foundation needed to address financial costs”.

Lloyd, a graduate of Howard University, praised Ivy League University’s commitment to providing financial and educational support to the direct descendants of the enslaved population and its commitment to developing relationships with HBCUs.

As Vietnam War veteran Lloyd puts it, “Harvard’s resources and pockets go very deep.” Let’s see how everything works out. ”

“Harvard does not accept exclusive responsibility for these injustices, and although many in our community have worked hard to combat them, Harvard has benefited from profound immoral practices and in some ways has endured,” Bekov said.