The International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina, has officially acquired a set of 15 daguerreotypes dating to 1850 that scholars believe are the earliest known photographs of enslaved Americans.
The seven slaves in this series of photos are Alfred, Delia, Delana, Fasena, Jack, Jem and Lundy; Lundy and Delia are father and daughter respectively, and Jack and Delana are also father and daughter. The collection, now called the “1850 Daguerreotypes” by the IAAM, was photographed by JT Zealy in South Carolina, where the photographers were enslaved, more than 175 years ago and just over a decade after the invention of the daguerreotype. The images show each subject in waist-up, topless, front and side views.
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The photographs were commissioned by 19th-century natural historian and Harvard professor Louis Agassiz to promote racist ideologies about black people. Until recently, Harvard University owned the photos. In 1976, the images were rediscovered in the collections of Harvard University.
The IAAM hosted a reception Wednesday to welcome the photos to their new home, the IAAM reported. new york times. In a press release, the IAAM described its planned preservation of the photos, which will be reshaped “from pseudoscientific tools to portraits commemorating the lives of seven enslaved people.”
“IAAM is honored to take over the stewardship of these images because preserving the historical stories of African Americans and thinking about our nation’s founding story is not only our mission but a call to action for all of us,” IAAM President and CEO Tonya M. Matthew said in a statement. “A comprehensive interpretation of these images will be transformative, shifting the narrative from dehumanizing intent to one of the intersection of trauma, resilience, self-determination and authentic, empathetic memory.”
The six-year legal battle between Harvard University and Tamara Lanier, whose independent genealogy research showed she was a descendant of Lundy and Delia. Lanier filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts in 2019, claiming that as a descendant they were her legal property.
The lawsuit states, era The report at the time of filing described the images as “theft” and argued that the people who took the photos, as slaves, were incapable of giving consent.
Benjamin Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney on Lanier’s legal team, told the outlet: “This is unprecedented in terms of legal theory and the recovery of property that was wrongly taken.” era 2019. “Lundy’s descendants may have been the descendants of the first slave ancestors to be able to acquire property rights.”
The Massachusetts Supreme Court ultimately rejected Lanier’s ownership claim, but Harvard eventually settled, turning the images over to another institution and selecting IAAM as the recipient. The transfer will officially take place at the end of 2025.
A spokesman for Harvard University told era It also provides financial contributions to the IAAM “to honor their legacy and humanity in a way that contributes to a deeper perspective and understanding of our nation’s history.”
The International African American Museum is located on the Gadsden Pier, once the main entrance for enslaved people.
Courtesy of the International African American Museum
Opening in 2023 after more than two decades of planning, the IAAM will be located at the Gadsden Pier, which, according to the museum, was the “point of entry for more than 40 percent of captured Africans brought to North America.”
“In this moment, we return these formerly enslaved men and women to society and the history from which they were wrongfully expelled…a final and fitting resting place; a place that celebrates their legacy and restores their humanity,” Lanier said in a statement.
IAAM also received 15 copies of the daguerreotype produced in 2022. (Because daguerreotypes are so unique and do not produce negatives, they are too fragile to be displayed, and are preserved under “strict conservation standards,” according to the release.)
The museum plans to display the replicas this October, “utilizing a trauma-based collection framework that prioritizes human-centered language and centers the humanity depicted rather than the pseudoscientific projects that originally produced these images,” according to a press release.
Malika N. Pryor, IAAM’s chief learning and engagement officer, said in a statement: “We are extremely honored to showcase Alfred, Delia, Delana, Fasena, Jack, Jim and Lundy in a new exhibit and tell their stories. This is more than just a homecoming; it is a homecoming where our ancestors are finally given the proper rest and care they always deserved and deserved.”
