A Legacy of Leadership

A Legacy of Leadership

EARLY AFRICAN AMERICAN ALUMNI OF HARVARD AND RADCLIFFE


It was more than two centuries after the University’s founding that Harvard College’s first Black graduate, Richard Greener, received his bachelor’s degree, in 1870, and it was not until the 1960s that the presence of Black students at Harvard and Radcliffe increased significantly.


Yet early Black graduates of Harvard lived lives of extraordinary impact. Despite an often inhospitable learning environment at Harvard, they confronted and resisted marginalization, earned their educations, and, ultimately, reshaped the nation. Their leadership and resistance—their struggles and triumphs—are also part of Harvard's story, and part of the legacy that today’s Harvard students inherit.

News & Ideas

A student conducts research at Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library.

Apply to Fund Your Research

The Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Student Grant Program provides $1,500 stipends per project to support the research and creative work of Harvard undergraduate and graduate students on the topic of Harvard and the legacy of slavery, broadly defined.

Apply Now

Explore More

01 / 04