Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders, has formally written to the President of Harvard University, calling on the institution to honour its commitments to addressing its historical benefits from slavery in the Caribbean nation. The letter, sent on the instructions of Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, expresses deep concern over Harvard’s abrupt termination of its Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program (HSRP) research team and the unexplained transfer of its responsibilities to an external genealogical nonprofit organization without any notification to the Antigua and Barbuda government.
In his letter, Sir Ronald recalls that Harvard publicly committed to identifying and addressing the legacies of slavery tied to its wealth, particularly the contributions made from the sale of enslaved individuals in Antigua and Barbuda, whose forced labour helped finance Harvard Law School through the Royall family’s plantations. He calls on the University to ensure that the research into these historical injustices continues with the same institutional rigor and, crucially, with the full involvement of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.
“The people of Antigua and Barbuda are not seeking mere symbolic gestures but substantive and meaningful engagement,” the letter states. “Harvard has an opportunity to lead by example in the global reparatory justice movement – through deepened and sustained commitment.”
The HSRP had identified nearly 1,000 individuals enslaved by Harvard donors, with several hundred specifically coming from Antigua and Barbuda. The initiative had gained momentum following high-level meetings in January between Harvard officials and Prime Mister Gaston Browne. However, Harvard has since laid off the entire research team and reassigned the work to American Ancestors, a New England-based genealogical nonprofit, raising concerns about the future of the initiative,
The Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador has urged Harvard to ensure that any new research entity undertaking this work directly engages the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and keeps it fully informed. He also emphasized that Harvard owes a practical debt, as well as a debt of conscience, to the people of Antigua and Barbuda, whose ancestors were integral to the financial foundation of the University.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda now calls on Harvard to uphold its moral and institutional obligations.
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Hope this doesn’t turn into another case of big promises with little results.
how will it be used to truly benefit the people?
Antigua and Barbuda are right to demand accountability.
Hey Baron Von Troomp you heard, that?
Why “demand” and beg. If you’re so certain, take Harvard University to the Courts. Now, if and when [we] win the lawsuit(s), we can then go after the Churches of England, the Vatican etc, since, a precedent would’ve been set by the Courts.
I’m bewildered, as to why CARICOM, the OECS or even an individual Nation like Ours, never use the precedent set by the Courts against the Catholic Church for their abuse of, some of their parishioners over decades?
Are they afraid to go after one of the major players and culprit, of the Transatlantic Triangular Slave Trade, that made, only their gods know how much money from the said slavery which Harvard University is said to have benefited from?
WELCOME to #trump_DEMIC and every Nation is catching this virus/bug!
Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏾Garrat_Bastard
Vere C. Edwards
Harvard most likely discovered that the PM & others are pocketing the money… doesn’t help regular Antiguuans one little bit.
Bingo @Antiguan. Bingo.
Judging from the hateful comments from the likes of ‘Antiguan’, ‘Ras Smood’, ‘Teacher for life’ and other such low-lifes, it would not surprise me one bit if the present crop of Harvard researchers have come to same conclusions. Black people just cannot be helped. The Willie Lynch papers have probably, by now, made their rounds. Black on black hate and self hate is set to continue unabated, well into the next few centuries.
Yo, this whole thing with Harvard and Antigua and Barbuda is definitely getting people fired up, and I can see why. It’s hard to trust big institutions when they’ve done messed up stuff in the past, but we can’t just give up on making things right, you know?
I’m down for holding Harvard accountable, but let’s make sure it’s actually helping out the folks in Antigua and Barbuda who’ve been hurt by slavery. They deserve more than just lip service. The government and Harvard need to be transparent and work together if we want any real change.
Plus, we gotta deal with the bigger picture too. Systemic racism and self-hate are still messing with us, and it’s not just about getting Harvard to own up. We all gotta educate ourselves, listen to each other, and keep talking if we wanna make a better future.