Harvard’s own slavery-commitment report endorses descendant remedies beyond legal obligation.

Evidence

The report declares that “[t]he damage caused by Harvard’s entanglements with slavery and its legacies warrant action,” even in “the absence of a legal requirement” to act. The report presents recommendations “that seek to remedy harms to descendants,” in ways that are “visible, lasting, grounded in a sustained process of engagement, and linked to the nature of the damage done.” One such recommendation is to “support direct descendants” of enslaved individuals who labored on Harvard’s campus or were enslaved by Harvard staff through “dialogue” and “relationship building,” with an aim of enabling these descendants to “recover their histories” and “tell their stories.” — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 1315

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reparations reading purpose — Harvard’s own stated standard becomes the yardstick the court and Lanier use against it.