Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 6 minutes ago
In collaboration with UCLA Law Black Law Students Association, the Epstein Program for Public Interest Law and Policy, and the Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology, and Sports Law, we hosted a screening of the powerful documentary, Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard.
The film tells the story of Tamara Lanier, an African American woman determined to force Harvard University to cede possession of daguerreotypes of her great-great-great grandfather, an enslaved man named Renty. The daguerreotypes were commissioned in 1850 by a Harvard professor to "prove" the superiority of the white race. The images remain emblematic of America’s failure to acknowledge the cruelty of slavery, the racist science that supported it, and the white supremacy that continues to infect our society today. The film focuses on Lanier and tracks her lawsuit against Harvard, and features attorney Benjamin Crump (who is currently representing the family of Tyre Nichols), author Ta-Nehisi Coates, and scholars Ariella Azoulay and Tina Campt.
Panelists include filmmaker David Grubin, UCLA Law Professor LaToya Baldwin Clark, UCLA Law Documentary Film Legal Clinic Frontline Fellow Loralee Sundra, and Documentary Film Legal Clinic alum Boyin Lam, with CRS Executive Director Jasleen Kohli and PILP Executive Director Karin Wang moderating.
In collaboration with UCLA Law Black Law Students Association, the Epstein Program for Public Interest Law and Policy, and the Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology, and Sports Law, we hosted a screening of the powerful documentary, Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard.
The film tells the story of Tamara Lanier, an African American woman determined to force Harvard University to cede possession of daguerreotypes of her great-great-great grandfather, an enslaved man named Renty. The daguerreotypes were commissioned in 1850 by a Harvard professor to "prove" the superiority of the white race. The images remain emblematic of America’s failure to acknowledge the cruelty of slavery, the racist science that supported it, and the white supremacy that continues to infect our society today. The film focuses on Lanier and tracks her lawsuit against Harvard, and features attorney Benjamin Crump (who is currently representing the family of Tyre Nichols), author Ta-Nehisi Coates, and scholars Ariella Azoulay and Tina Campt.
Panelists include filmmaker David Grubin, UCLA Law Professor LaToya Baldwin Clark, UCLA Law Documentary Film Legal Clinic Frontline Fellow Loralee Sundra, and Documentary Film Legal Clinic alum Boyin Lam, with CRS Executive Director Jasleen Kohli and PILP Executive Director Karin Wang moderating.
