Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people.

A Connecticut woman who says she's descended from slaves shown in widely published, historical photos owned by Harvard University can sue the school for emotional distress.

BOSTON – A Massachusetts state judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a Connecticut woman who said Harvard University illegally owned photos of her enslaved ancestors and refused to turn them over. The photos were commissioned by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, whose theories on racial difference were used to support slavery in the U.S. In her 2019 lawsuit, Tamara Lanier, of Norwich, Connecticut, said Renty and Delia are her ancestors and that the photos were taken against their will. She demanded the photos from Harvard, saying the Ivy League school had exploited the portraits for profit, including by using Renty’s image on the cover of a book. But the judge hearing the case sided with Harvard, which argued that Lanier had no legal claim to the photos.