Court: Harvard can be sued for distress over slave photos


              Tamara Lanier holds an 1850 photograph of a South Carolina slave named Renty, who Lanier said is her family's patriarch, on July 17, 2018, at her home in Norwich, Conn. Lanier, who says she's descended from slaves portrayed in widely-published, historical photos owned by Harvard, can sue the Ivy League university for emotional distress, Massachusetts' highest court ruled Thursday June 23, 2022. The state's Supreme Judicial Court partly vacated a lower court ruling that dismissed a complaint from Tamara Lanier over photos she says depict her enslaved ancestors. The images are considered some of the earliest showing enslaved people in the United States. (John Shishmanian/The Norwich Bulletin via AP, File)
            
              Tamara Lanier attends a news conference near the Harvard Club Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in New York. Lanier, who says she's descended from slaves portrayed in widely-published, historical photos owned by Harvard, can sue the Ivy League university for emotional distress, Massachusetts' highest court ruled Thursday June 23, 2022. The state's Supreme Judicial Court partly vacated a lower court ruling that dismissed a complaint from Tamara Lanier over photos she says depict her enslaved ancestors. The images are considered some of the earliest showing enslaved people in the United States. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
Court: Harvard can be sued for distress over slave photos