Harvard Law might ditch its seal over ties to slave owners

A Harvard Law School committee recommended Friday the institution ditch its official seal, which, as The Harvard Crimson reports, includes the crest of a former slave-owning family.

"There are better ways to engage the past and its legacy in the present than by retaining a symbol that so many members of the community reject," the committee's report reads. "We believe that if the Law School is to have an official symbol, it must more closely represent the values of the Law School, which the current shield does not."

In the fall, the seal contributed to a larger discussion about diversity at the school, which also included activists raising awareness of how minorities are treated.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up