BOSTON (AP) – Harvard University has pledged to spend $ 100 million to explore and redeem its widespread bondage relationship, the school president said Tuesday, making plans and supporting the descendants of enslaved people. who worked on the Ivy League campus.
President Lawrence Beckow announced the funding after Harvard released a new report detailing the benefits of college slavery and continuing racial inequality. But the report makes no recommendations on direct financial payments, and officials have no immediate plan for that kind of support.
Harvard, the oldest and richest college in the country, is one of the newest growing schools in the United States trying to fight their slavery and even correct it.
A report commissioned by Beckow found that Harvard faculty, staff and executives enslaved more than 70 blacks and Native Americans from the school’s founding in 1636 to 1783. Using historical records, the researchers identified names of dozens of enslaved people, which connects them to the university.
Most are identified by a single name, such as Caesar, Dina and Venus.
“Male and female slaves served Harvard presidents and professors, fed and cared for Harvard students,” the researchers discovered. “Furthermore, during this period and until the 19th century, the university and its donors had extensive financial ties to slavery.
The report states that the university “must make a substantial financial commitment and must invest in medical facilities that are equal to or more extensive than other universities.” Beckow said Harvard will try to correct its mistakes “through teaching, research and service.” Form a committee to implement the report’s proposals.
Based on previous research at Harvard, the report details how the university relied on the slave trade in its early years and benefited from it over the decades.
Harvard invested directly in the sugar and rum trade in the Caribbean, along with the American cotton and rail industries. The early development of the college was attributed to the support of wealthy donors who amassed their wealth through the slave trade and related industries.
Along with the 70 people enslaved, the report also lists their slaves – including several Harvard presidents and senior officials – and the campus buildings, rooms, and professors that still bear their names.
The report states that even after the abolition of slavery, prominent scholars continued to propagate concepts that adopted racist ideas.
He cites the work of Professor Louis Agassis in the 19th century, who promoted discredited theories in the science of race and eugenics. Another scientist conducted a “Physical Education” program that collected students ’physical measurements to support the development of eugenic theories.
In his message, Beckow called the results “disturbing and shocking” and acknowledged that the school “continued deeply immoral practices”.
“Consequently, I believe we have a moral responsibility to do everything possible to eliminate the continuing destructive effects of that historical practice on individuals, at Harvard and in our society,” he wrote.
The 130-page report includes some recommendations supported by Bacou. $ 100 million will be spent on the work, some funds are now available and other funds will be available from the fund. The university itself has more than $ 50 billion in funding, making it the largest in the country.
The report says Harvard should identify the descendants of enslaved people and their relationship with them “through dialogue, programming, information sharing, relationship building and educational support.”
“Through this effort, these descendants will be able to tell their stories, be able to tell their stories and be able to apply empowering knowledge,” the report said.
In a broader way, he calls on Harvard to fight racial inequality by expanding educational options for the descendants of enslaved people, especially in the South and Caribbean. It invites the University to work closely with historic black colleges across the country, with new funding, to bring students and scholars to Harvard each year for one year.
Recognizing the slavery of Native Americans, he invited Harvard to have a closer relationship with the tribes of New England. Harvard is expected to recruit more students from tribal communities, the report said, and organize a national conference to help study indigenous slavery.
In making the recommendations, Harvard has joined a growing number of colleges as they try to move from research to action as they reconcile their stories.
Georgetown University pledged in 2019 to raise $ 400,000 annually for the offspring of slaves sold to the school. Princeton Theological Seminary has established a $ 27.6 million reparation fund. The University of Virginia established scholarships for the descendants of slaves.
Harvard officially began exploring links to slavery in 2016, when former President Drew Gilpin Faust acknowledged that the school was “a direct accomplice to America’s racial slavery system.” Faust set up a committee to study the subject and placed a plaque on campus in honor of the slaves who worked there.
Student activists have been shedding light on Harvard’s dark stories for years. In 2015, students asked Harvard Law School to leave its official peak, associated with an 18th-century donor whose family enslaved dozens of people. Months later, the school released the symbol.
Shortly after becoming president, Beckham launched a new presidential initiative at Harvard and the legacy of slavery to explore the role of the university in more depth. This effort led to a new relationship.
“Harvard, which I know, even when it is far from perfect, is always striving to be better: our life experience has become closer to our lofty ideals,” Beckow wrote. “By publishing this report and living up to our commitment to its recommendations, we continue the long tradition of addressing the challenges we face.
Source: Huffpost
