Harvard pledges $100M to research, atone for role in slavery

BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University is vowing to spend $100 million to research and atone for its extensive ties with slavery, the school’s president announced Tuesday, with plans to identify and support the descendants of enslaved people who labored at the Ivy League campus.

President Lawrence Bacow announced the funding as Harvard released a new report detailing many ways the college benefited from slavery and perpetuated racial inequality.

The report, commissioned by Bacow, found that Harvard’s faculty, staff and leaders enslaved more than 70 Black and Native American people from the school’s founding in 1636 to 1783.

It cautions that the figure is “almost certainly an undercount.”

Using historical records, researchers were able to identify dozens of enslaved people by name, along with their connection to the university.

“Enslaved men and women served Harvard presidents and professors and fed and cared for Harvard students,” researchers found.

“Moreover, throughout this period and well into the 19th century, the University and its donors benefited from extensive financial ties to slavery.”

The report says the university “should make a significant monetary commitment, and it should invest in remedies of equal or greater breadth than other universities.”

But the report stops short of recommending direct financial reparations, and officials have no immediate plans for that kind of support.