Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program expands partnership with American Ancestors

Harvard University has expanded its existing partnership with American Ancestors, a national center for family history, heritage, and culture, and the oldest genealogical nonprofit in America. As part of the next phase of the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative, American Ancestors — which has been conducting the genealogical research on behalf of the University to identify those who were enslaved by Harvard leadership, faculty, or staff, and those who are their direct descendants — will now take the lead role in advancing the work of the initiative’s Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program.

American Ancestors’ partnership on the Remembrance Program research was established in 2022 following the release of the report and recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery. The University accepted the recommendations and began the work to “identify the direct descendants of enslaved individuals who labored on Harvard’s campus and of those who were enslaved by Harvard leadership, faculty, or staff.”

“American Ancestors is recognized globally for the thoughtfulness and rigor of its research efforts, and we are excited to expand what has been a strong collaboration in support of our goals,” Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said. “Over the last two and a half years, we have made important progress toward fulfilling the recommendations of the Presidential Committee, and we look forward to the expertise and skill with which American Ancestors will continue to build on the foundation we laid in 2022.”

Building on the important groundwork laid by the Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program, American Ancestors will continue the program’s work of identifying Harvard leaders, faculty, or staff who enslaved others and will significantly expand its own ongoing work of identifying the individuals who were enslaved and perform genealogical research to locate their living direct descendants. As this research moves forward, the University is positioning itself to be able to engage with direct descendants identified through these efforts.

Records of family lineage created from this work will also be used to engage with descendant communities and will help inform other aspects of the initiative’s ongoing work. The University will also donate these records to the 10 Million Names project, a collaborative initiative led by American Ancestors that is dedicated to recovering the names of the estimated 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial America. “In this expanded role, American Ancestors is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of professional genealogical research to uncover the identities of individuals enslaved by Harvard leadership, faculty, or staff, and to document their descendants,” said Ryan J. Woods, president and CEO of American Ancestors. “We understand from our extensive experience that tracing families descended from enslaved individuals is a complex, time-intensive process filled with significant challenges. We are committed to advancing this critical research to help Harvard establish meaningful connections and engagement with living descendants.”