At least 70 individuals were enslaved by Harvard University leaders, donors and staff members in the period before slavery was outlawed in Massachusetts in 1783, according to a report the university released Tuesday.
Written by members of a committee authorized by university President Lawrence Bacow, the 134-page report includes seven recommendations “to remedy the persistent educational and social harms that human bondage caused to descendants, to the campus community, and to surrounding cities, the Commonwealth, and the nation,” according to the report.
The suggestions include developing educational partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities, along with honoring enslaved people by investing in future generations of Black scholars.
