Agassiz’s descendant avoided examining his legacy until Lanier sued

Evidence

In one clip, Susanna said, “Tammy’s great-great-great-grandfather was Papa Renty, who was made to strip nude and pose for a photographer. My great-great-great-grandfather was Louis Agassiz, who ordered that that photograph be taken. I didn’t look it straight in the face until…Tammy’s lawsuit. There was this vague feeling that you did not want to look too hard at his legacy because you would find things that were uncomfortable.” — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 935

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader theme of how institutions and descendants hold stolen legacies; mirrors the reader’s interest in property as the afterlife of slavery.