Harvard University honors slaves who once worked there with a plaque
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard University’s president has dedicated a plaque that honors slaves who worked on campus centuries ago.
The slate plaque was placed on Wadsworth House on Wednesday. The building served as the official residence of Harvard’s presidents until 1849.
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The plaque lists the names of Titus and Venus, who were slaves who worked for President Benjamin Wadsworth from 1725 until 1737. It also lists the names of Juba and Bilhah, who were slaves in the household of President Edward Holyoke from 1737 until 1769.
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President Drew Faust said at the ceremony that Harvard “was directly complicit in America’s system of racial bondage,” and the plaque is meant to remember “stolen lives.”
She was joined by Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, a veteran of the civil rights movement.
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Wadsworth House now contains offices.
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