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Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery: Reckoning with the Past to Understand the Present

February 18, 2021
image of Royall House, once home to the largest slaveholding family in Massachusetts
In the 18th century, the Royall House was home to the largest slaveholding family in Massachusetts. It was a bequest from Isaac Royall Jr. that funded the establishment of Harvard Law School in 1817. In 2016, the Harvard Corporation approved the removal of the Law School’s shield, which was derived directly from the Royall coat of arms. Harvard Fine Arts Library Special Collections

Join the Harvard Radcliffe Institute on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 for an online lecture, Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery: Reckoning with the Past to Understand the Present. 

The presidential initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, anchored at Harvard Radcliffe Institute, is an effort to understand and address the enduring legacy of slavery within our University community. The Radcliffe on the Road series (now virtual) will explore the charge of the initiative and the work under way to explore Harvard’s historical entanglements with slavery and its legacies, along with the initiative’s efforts to support student and community engagement.