Institutions will not voluntarily return plundered property absent formal demands.

Evidence

The statement that “power concedes nothing without a demand,” as first used by Frederick Douglass, was symbolic of the crisis all educational institutions and museums now face. Harvard’s unwillingness to return plundered property underscored the notion that those in positions of authority are unlikely to surrender contested artifacts or objects of cultural significance voluntarily. The demand for repatriation, or in this case reparations, serves as a necessary measure for addressing historical injustices and restoring cultural heritage and/or plundered property to its rightful owners. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 1142

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader looted-art repatriation debate (Parthenon Marbles, Benin Bronzes) and the reader’s interest in how institutions hold stolen things.