Movie Matinee: Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard

Who has the right to control the images of past violence — the descendants of the victims, or the institutions that profited from it?

Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard follows Tamara Lanier, an African American woman fighting to reclaim the daguerreotypes of her great-great-great-grandfather, Renty — an enslaved man photographed in 1850 at the direction of a Harvard professor attempting to “prove” white racial superiority.

The film traces Lanier’s groundbreaking legal battle against Harvard University and examines how these photographs continue to symbolize America’s unresolved reckoning with slavery, the racist science that fueled it, and the ongoing legacy of white supremacy. Featuring civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, author Ta-Nehisi Coates, and scholars Ariella Azoulay and Tina Campt, this documentary offers a powerful reflection on ownership, history, memory, and justice. The film runs 1 hour and 34 minutes, is not rated, and is made available through Kanopy. This program is free and open to the public.