Thread by @ThomasAFoster

"Who was Renty? The story of the slave whose racist photos have triggered a lawsuit against Harvard" usatoday.com/story/news/nat…

After learning about The Harvard Coalition to Free Renty, I've been rethinking the inclusion of an image in my recent book. 1/16

The Harvard Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology holds a collection of images of five enslaved men (Alfred, Fassena, Jack, Jem, Renty) and two enslaved women (Delia and Drana). 2/16

In 1850 Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz paid to have the individuals, who were all enslaved in South Carolina, stripped naked and photographed. He believed the images would support his theories of white supremacy. 3/16

The daguerreotypes are believed to be the first images of enslaved people.
Descendants of Renty have filed a lawsuit against Harvard and students have formed @Free_Renty to raise awareness. 4/16

Although the president of Harvard defends their circulation because the images convey the humanity of those enslaved, like so many items in our archives and museums, these photos should be returned to their rightful owners. 5/16

I first learned about the images, from Molly Rogers’s book, Delia’s Tears. In my own book on sexual abuse and exploitation of enslaved men, I chose to include the photos of Jem and Alfred precisely to underscore their humanity. 6/16

Because the photos are degrading, I chose not to have larger size images, not to use them on the cover, and not to tweet the images. I rationalized including them in the book as a necessary “cost.” 7/16

The images are so arresting that I felt they were important to include because I was arguing for recognition of a topic and subject that has largely gone unacknowledged by historians: the sexual assault of enslaved men. 8/16

I told myself that a powerful image could go a long way to make sure the story of their exploitation gets heard.
I paid $30 for fees to Peabody Museum. 9/16

I will request that @UGAPress explore our options for issuing another edition of Rethinking Rufus: Sexual Violations of Enslaved Men, removing the two images but keeping the related text, as testament to their experiences. 10/16

I will also explore with the press how we could secure permission from descendants, if the photos are to be included in my book.
When writing Rethinking Rufus I recall a conversation with @jimdowns1 about the experiences of Jem and Alfred. 11/16

I recall him saying that the day spent being photographed may well have been a lesser of two evils. It could have provided much-needed relief from back-breaking labor. This is important context and it reminds us we cannot assume how people experienced their abuses. 12/16

We have no records from Jem and Alfred that can helps us understand how they viewed their experience that day when they stood naked before a room full of people and a strange new device that could capture your image. 13/16

However, we do know from countless other sources that enslaved people deeply resented the sexualized violations and the interference in their intimate lives. 14/16

As an historian, I am grateful to archives for maintaining records that we need to understand our past and ourselves. 15/16

However, families should decide if they want photos of their enslaved ancestors published “to portray their humanity” and not universities or archives -- or authors. 16/16

"Harvard Students Form Coalition Supporting Slave Photo Lawsuit's Demands" thecrimson.com/article/2020/1…