BOSTON (AP) - A Connecticut woman says Harvard University has ``shamelessly''turned a profit from images of two 19th-century slaves she says are her ancestors. Tamara Lanier, of Norwich, says in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that Harvard hasignored her request to turn over the photos. Her lawsuit in Massachusetts state court asks Harvard to relinquish them and pay unspecified damages. A message was left with Harvard seeking comment. The images depict a South Carolina slave named Renty and his daughter, Delia.
Lanier says she is a direct descendant. Lanier's suit says the photos were commissioned by former Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, whose ideas were used to support the enslavement of Africans. The lawsuit says Harvard requires ``hefty'' licensing fees to reproduce the photos, and has used one image on the cover of a book.
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