Judge dismisses lawsuit over slave portraits at Harvard

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts state judge has dismissed a 2019 lawsuit from a Connecticut woman who said Harvard University illegally owned photos of her enslaved ancestors and refused to turn them over. An attorney for Tamara Lanier said Tuesday’s decision will be appealed. Harvard said it now hopes to find the photos “an appropriate home.” The lawsuit centered on a series of 1850 photos thought to be among the earliest images of enslaved people in the United States. The photos were commissioned by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, whose theories on racial difference were used to support slavery in the U.S.