‘Better and Stronger’: Harvard Hosts Second Annual Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Forum

Harvard students and affiliates participated in the University’s second annual Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Forum last week under the theme “Reckoning and Transformation,” gathering for keynote speakers, mixers, and performances.

The three-day forum — which was hosted in a hybrid format by the Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging — included speakers from the Harvard Museum of Science and Culture, the Harvard University Native American Program, and Harvard’s faculty.

The forum featured a keynote speech from founder and president of Justice for Migrant Women Moníca Ramírez and a conversation with vice provost Sarah Bleich, who will oversee the implementation of Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery initative.

Harvard’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Sherri A. Charleston, who both attended and spoke at the event, wrote in an email to The Crimson that the forum was intended to provide Harvard affiliates with an opportunity to learn about diversity initiatives.

“The EDIB Forum, for me, is about passing the mic to those who don’t regularly have opportunities to participate, share ideas, or ask questions on a University-wide platform,” Charleston wrote. “There is a wealth of expertise here at Harvard, and the Forum is an opportunity for all of us, me included, to learn with and from nationally recognized experts.”

The event included discussion around Harvard’s reckoning with its legacy of slavery, Gen Z activism, and the ethical stewardship of the Harvard Museum Collections.

The forum occurred in light of controversy surrounding the stewardship of the remains of 19 individuals of African, African-American, and Brazilian descent who were likely to have been enslaved. According to a report by the University’s Steering Committee on Human Remains in Harvard Museum Collections, Harvard museums house the remains of more than 22,000 human individuals.

Steering Committee chair and former Harvard College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds discussed the task force’s recommendations on how the University should treat human remains in a panel.

“It is really important that we recognize here that treating these individuals with care and dignity means treating them first and foremost as individuals,” Hammonds said. “Understanding them as individuals is complex and will require the time, respect, and sensitivity and research to identify as best we possibly can who these individuals are.”

During a Thursday panel entitled “Reckoning with the Legacy of Slavery at Harvard,” Tomiko Brown-Nagin — the dean of the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study and the chair of the Presidential Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery — discussed reactions to the release of the report.

“Whatever it is that people are conjuring when they think about Harvard, I can guarantee you it’s not entanglements with slavery and with the history that our own president — when we released the report — said was to some extent ‘shocking’ and even ‘shameful,’” Brown-Nagin said.

Martha S. Jones, a history professor at Johns Hopkins University, discussed the value of history and becoming the “stewards of an institutional reputation.”

“I think this work has made Harvard better and stronger — to be able to turn the lens on oneself and embrace that history in the way that we have and the way that the President has, and to be able to hold it up as an example of excellence,” Brown-Nagin said.

When reflecting on the forum, Charleston expressed her hopes to broaden the vision of Harvard’s past and future.

“This Forum’s theme is Reckoning & Transformation, and as a historian, I truly believe that the only way forward is to look honestly at our past and, not only envision, but take action to create more equity in our lives on campus, at home, and in our communities,” Charleston wrote. “This is only the beginning.”

Correction: February 21, 2023

A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed the quote “I think this work has made Harvard better and stronger — to be able to turn the lens on oneself and embrace that history in the way that we have and the way that the President has, and to be able to hold it up as an example of excellence,” to Martha S. Jones. In fact, this quote was said by Tomiko Brown-Nagin during the forum.

—Staff writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at joyce.kim@thecrimson.com.

​​—Staff writer Makanaka Nyandoro can be reached at makanaka.nyandoro@thecrimson.com.