THOL FEATURED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES
Dream Merchant Story: Uhuru 1865
Every piece created by The House of Langston begins with intention.
What started as a concept for a garment became something far deeper — a journey through history, resistance, literacy, freedom, and legacy.
The idea behind Uhuru 1865 began with a question:
What if there had been an underground publication during slavery? A voice passed hand to hand. A document of hope. A coded message reminding people that freedom existed, even when the world around them denied it.
As we researched that idea, we discovered the story of Renty.
Enslaved on a South Carolina plantation, Renty was known for secretly teaching others to read and write despite laws designed to keep enslaved people disconnected from knowledge, language, and power. Literacy was not simply education. It was resistance. It was dignity. It was freedom before freedom arrived.
The deeper we researched, the deeper the story became.
That path eventually led us to Tamara Lanier, a descendant of Renty and the leading voice behind the historic fight to reclaim the dignity and humanity associated with the daguerreotypes commissioned by Harvard in 1850. Before reaching out, we were careful and intentional. We never wanted to reduce a family’s pain, history, or legacy to merchandise. But when we connected, we were aligned. Respect. Understanding. Purpose.
We gifted the Lanier family pieces from the Uhuru 1865 collection, not knowing how deeply our stories would eventually intersect.
Only days before we reached out, Ms. Lanier was already traveling to Charleston to continue conversations surrounding the future home of the images at the International African American Museum. Around that same time, we were preparing to travel to Atlanta for a Juneteenth celebration centered around the very themes that inspired the piece: freedom, remembrance, and liberation.
What felt like research became a relationship.
What felt like design became responsibility.
And what began as an idea eventually became part of a much larger living story.
In 2026, The New York Times published an article surrounding the return of the Renty and Delia daguerreotypes to the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. In the article, Tamara Lanier appeared wearing The House of Langston’s Uhuru 1865 piece — a moment that reminded us that fashion, at its best, can carry memory, preserve conversation, and honor those who protected dreams by any means necessary.
At The House of Langston, we believe Dream Merchants exist in every generation.
Renty was a Dream Merchant.
Tamara Lanier is a Dream Merchant.
And we are honored to help carry that story forward with humility, intention, and respect.
At The House of Langston, fabric is our ministry. Every piece is an opportunity to carry story, purpose, memory, and affirmation into the world.
Because every piece we create begins with research, meaning, and purpose.
This is more than clothing.
This is cultural memory worn with intention.
Continue the Story
Read:
From These Roots: My Fight with Harvard to Reclaim My Legacy
by Tamara Lanier
A powerful account of family, memory, resistance, and the fight to reclaim dignity and lineage.
https://a.co/d/0j9u3PtS
Read the Full New York Times Article
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/us/renty-slave-photos-harvard-museum.html?smid=url-share
New York Times image and article credited to The New York Times and respective photographers/authors.
Now that’s Langston.