Overview
- Harvard and American Ancestors released the Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program database Tuesday, detailing 1,613 enslaved people connected to university leaders, faculty, and staff from 1636 to 1865.
- The public database lists each person’s name, location, and documented dates along with the names and roles of the Harvard affiliates who enslaved them, and it includes source citations for every entry.
- To anchor the search, researchers rebuilt a roster of roughly 3,000 historical Harvard officials and have verified at least 259 as enslavers so far.
- The team has identified about 600 living descendants to date, and Harvard says its engagement will focus on sharing records and educational support rather than monetary reparations or admissions preferences.
- The work is ongoing and expected to expand, and Harvard plans to contribute results to American Ancestors’ 10 Million Names initiative following a 2025 handoff to the nonprofit after internal disputes over the project’s scope.