Free Renty 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, author Ta-Nehisi Coates and scholars Ariella Azoulay and Tina Campt. 

The film, Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard, was completed in 2021. On May 28, 2025 the case was settled in Tamara's favor. Harvard will give the daguerreotypes of Renty and his daughter Delia to the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, the state where they had been enslaved.

“They will be returning to their home state where this all began," Tamara said, "and they will be placed in an institution that can celebrate their humanity.” - New York Times

FIND OUT MORE AT freerentyfilm.com