An institution’s historic misconduct shapes its present duties to descendants

Evidence

As we have already observed, Harvard’s past complicity in the repugnant actions by which the daguerreotypes were produced informs its present responsibilities to the descendants of the individuals coerced into having their half-naked images captured in the daguerreotypes. Whether Harvard’s response to Lanier’s inquiries about the daguerreotypes resulted in a breach of basic community standards of decency cannot be evaluated without taking into account its historic responsibility for Agassiz’s role in the horrific circumstances by which those very daguerreotypes were created…. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 1307

Categorization

• DEFINE: This is the doctrinal heart of the case: the court holding that present-day archival duties are informed by the historical circumstances of how materials were created — a novel legal principle.
• XREF: Connects to the broader project framing of property/custody as the afterlife of slavery; also resonates with museum repatriation and human-remains debates.