Harvard lacks good title to images taken in a criminal act

Evidence

That essay changed my life as Murray’s legal analysis helped me understand why Harvard refused to acknowledge me as Renty and Delia’s descendant. If they did, then I would have legal standing to claim the artifacts. I knew the daguerreotypes were priceless, and that Harvard enjoyed the academic prestige of controlling how they were used and by whom. But Murray’s essay helped me understand two profound truths: Harvard does not have good title to the artifacts, which are in fact the proceeds of a criminal act. Property appropriated from Renty and Delia does not belong to those who stole it from them. It should go back to the victims, or their descendants. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 669

Categorization

• XREF: Recalls the U.S. v. One Lucite Ball line of ‘proceeds of crime’ forfeiture logic, and the broader reparations-as-property-rights literature.