Harvard University abruptly terminated staff contributing to the research component of its Slavery Remembrance Program on Jan. 23, leaving employees without notice and sparking outrage about the institution’s commitment to its $100 million Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative.
The decision comes during a national wave of setbacks to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, widespread layoffs of minority employees, and actions by states and schools to diminish the teaching of Black history.
The Slavery Remembrance Program, a cornerstone of the Legacy of Slavery Initiative, sought to address Harvard’s extensive entanglements with slavery. The 2022 report by the university’s Presidential Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery detailed how the institution enslaved over 70 individuals, benefited financially from slavery-related industries, and upheld racial hierarchies through “race science” and eugenics.
Richard J. Cellini, the program’s director, was also dismissed after he reportedly challenged the university’s administration for allegedly interfering with the research’s scope. Cellini had accused Sara Bleich, the initiative’s overseer, of attempting to suppress findings that uncovered descendants tied to Harvard’s slavery legacy.
According to reports, Cellini gave the administration an ultimatum: either allow the program to conduct its research without obstruction or fire him. Days later, his termination followed.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from within and beyond the university. Staff told the Harvard Crimson they had no prior indication that their roles were at risk.
One former employee described the layoffs as devastating.
“We were conducting vital work, uncovering Harvard’s ties to slavery and its legacies. Cutting this program sends a clear and troubling signal about where priorities lie,” the employee told the university newspaper.
Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Advisory Council member Henry Louis Gates Jr. publicly praised Cellini’s contributions.
“Richard Cellini’s superb efforts launched us on our way on this historically important mission,” Gates stated in a university press release. “We are indebted to Richard for his early guidance and his ambitious leadership.”
Harvard announced the program’s next phase will proceed under the leadership of American Ancestors, a genealogical organization. However, critics argue the abrupt staff dismissals undermine the credibility of the university’s stated commitment to reckoning with its history.
“Institutions like Harvard have the resources to set an example for accountability,” said one academic familiar with the initiative. “But actions like these raise serious doubts.”
The controversy follows Harvard’s 2022 acknowledgment of its historical reliance on slavery. According to its report, the university’s leaders, faculty, and donors directly profited from slavery, with more than a third of donations during the first half of the 19th century coming from five individuals tied to the slave economy.
Some enslaved individuals lived and worked on Harvard’s campus, serving presidents, professors, and students. The report also revealed that the university played a prominent role in the proliferation of racial pseudoscience, with faculty conducting dehumanizing research and promoting eugenics.
Former Harvard President Lawrence Bacow, who launched the initiative in 2019, described the program as essential to addressing Harvard’s past.
“We must do what we can to understand and confront our history and the harm it caused, while building a future rooted in equity and inclusion,” Bacow said in 2022.
The initiative’s recommendations included memorializing enslaved individuals, supporting descendant communities, and funding scholarships for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
However, the layoffs have led some to question Harvard’s willingness to fully embrace these recommendations, especially when Black history and DEI programs face unprecedented threats nationwide. Across the country, states are banning or restricting the teaching of topics related to slavery and systemic racism. Several major corporations have scaled back DEI initiatives, and schools have faced backlash for attempts to promote racial equity.
The report acknowledged that Harvard’s very existence was intertwined with slavery.
“Harvard depended upon the expropriation of land and labor — land acquired through dispossession of Native territories and labor extracted from enslaved people.”
Gates has raised the call for continued accountability.
“This will be a systematic, scholarly, sustained effort to establish the facts about this dark chapter in our university’s history and begin the long journey of healing,” Gates said.