WASHINGTON, USA – 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 minister 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.
Read the full text of the letter.
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