“The question is, who owns the rights to the violence of the past? Is it the victim or the perpetrator? ”— Tamara Lanier

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 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.

FREE RENTY — in DVD format — is available at The Guilford Free Library, where it may be borrowed for home viewing by anyone with a valid library card. FREE RENTY can also be accessed via the digital film screening service Kanopy, which is available through the library for computers, iOS and Android devices and is also compatible with Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast. Cardholders for the library can sign up for Kanopy here.