This documentary told the powerful, deeply personal story of Tamara Lanier, who fought to reclaim the daguerreotypes of her great-great-great-grandfather, Renty, an enslaved man photographed in 1850 at the direction of a Harvard professor seeking to “prove” white racial superiority.
Through Lanier’s groundbreaking legal battle against Harvard University, the film confronted the enduring legacy of racist science and raised urgent questions about ownership, memory, and justice. Created through coercion and dehumanization, these images remained stark symbols of America’s unfinished reckoning with slavery and white supremacy. Featuring civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, and scholars Ariella Azoulay and Tina Campt, the documentary challenged viewers to reconsider who controlled history—and who should.
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