We, the undersigned graduates from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, as well as other schools at Harvard University, ask that the Harvard Alumni Association consider this request and recommend to the Harvard Board of Overseers and the Harvard Corporation: that Harvard dedicate 1.5 billion dollars of its approximately 51 billion-dollar-endowment to the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Harvard has acknowledged that one-third of its donations before the Civil War came from individuals whose fortunes were tied to slavery. In response to its 2022 report "Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery" issued by the Presidential Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, the University has committed $100 million toward addressing the consequences of slavery.
The Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative (H&LSI) has many projects underway, including collaborations with HBCUs. H&LSI also announced in May 2024 the recipients of its inaugural grant program: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/newsplus/the-harvard-the-legacy-of-slavery-initiative-announces-recipients-of-its-inaugural-grant-program/.
The undersigned believe that a significant, unrestricted gift to HBCUs from the Harvard endowment is yet another appropriate way to make reparations and restitution for Harvard's involvement with slavery and its aftermath.
By making such gifts to institutions that share Harvard's mission to advance higher education, Harvard would further enhance its collaborations with educational institutions at the forefront of addressing slavery's aftermath. Such a "transfer of wealth" would enable HBCUs to better meet longstanding needs in such areas as scholarships, faculty support, research, and construction.
SIGNED (individuals, with their Harvard degrees and dates, follow):
