‘No Limit on the Research’: Bleich Defends Legacy of Slavery Initiative After Resignations, Layoffs

Vice Provost for Special Projects Sara N. Bleich forcefully defended Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery initiative in a Feb. 21 interview following departures from the initiative and criticism of the University’s decision to outsource the research of its Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program.

During the interview, Bleich appeared to repeatedly push back against former HSRP Director Richard J. Cellini’s public accusation that she and other administrators sought to restrict the scope of his team’s research. On four separate occasions, Bleich said there was “no limit” on the initiative’s work.

“We know that the scale of both enslaved individuals and direct descendants is going to grow considerably,” she said.

The Friday interview follows a September Crimson investigation which revealed strife among initiative leadership and allegations from current and former initiative affiliates that they were pressured to expedite their work for public relations victories.

Bleich also justified the decision to outsource descendant research to Boston-based genealogical nonprofit American Ancestors, saying it would allow them to “scale the work” of identifying enslaved individuals owned by Harvard affiliates and their direct descendants.

“This is really exciting,” Bleich said. “American Ancestors is the oldest and most recognized genealogical organization in the country, if not the world.”

Bleich wrote in a statement after the interview that the initiative currently anticipates eventually “publicly sharing names and other identifying information of enslaved individuals as this work advances.”

Bleich declined to comment on the layoffs of Harvard’s internal HSRP team, which took place on the same day the expanded partnership with American Ancestors was announced.

Bleich stressed that despite the decision to outsource HSRP’s work, it represented only one facet of the larger Legacy of Slavery initiative.

“The more that I go out and I speak to people, what I continuously hear is how low awareness is and how pleasantly surprised people are about how the work is moving forward,” she added.

Bleich said the initiative is currently selecting its second cohort for its Du Bois Scholars program, which welcomes a group of students from historically black colleges and universities each summer to participate in Harvard’s Summer Undergraduate Research Village.

Bleich also said the University is still searching for a new executive director of the Legacy of Slavery initiative following Roeshana Moore-Evans’ June departure from the position, though she declined to comment on the timeline or state of the search.

She emphasized the progress the initiative had made since its inception, saying that “three years ago, this work didn’t exist at Harvard.”

Work on addressing Harvard’s legacy of slavery “is intended to go on in perpetuity — so, long after the rest of us are gone,” Bleich said.

“I totally understand the urgency people feel,” she added. “But the desire for speed has to be balanced against the need to advance the work deliberately and thoughtfully.”

—Staff writer Sophie Gao can be reached at sophie.gao@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sophiegao22.

—Staff writer Alexandra M. Kluzak can be reached at alexandra.kluzak@thecrimson.com.