Survivors and descendants continue to dema nd reckoning from governments\, universities\, museums and seminaries for p articipation in a variety of historical wrongs. Increasingly\, corporate ex ecutives also find themselves called upon to atone for their predecessors’ moral transgressions. While many business leaders can address inherited fai led product lines or dysfunctional teams\, fewer know how to handle demands that their enterprise address legacies of mass atrocity such as slavery\, genocide\, or colonialism. When survivors and descendants demand reckoning\ , many corporate leaders initially shirk the responsibilities that follow f rom these requests. They may claim that history belongs to the historians\, that their company’s activities were legal at the time\, or that too much time has passed. If it comes to it\, courts will rule in their favor\, they reassure themselves. Others avoid these issues simply because they have no idea how to address them.
In this webinar\, Sarah Federman provides a pathway forward that serves companies and those affected by these histori cal harms. The atonement model she presents is developed in her new book\, Corporate Reckoning (MIT Press\, 2026)\, which offers case studies across atrocities\, industries\, and geographies.
Demands for reckon ing ebb and flow\, but these histories do not disappear. Taking responsibil ity for irreparable harm is not easy or comfortable. Despite the dilemmas a nd difficulties\, the only way out is through.
CATEGORIES:Book Talk LOCATION:Zoom GEO:40.712728;-74.006015 ORGANIZER;CN="CJ Bigsby":MAILTO:cbigsby@law.harvard.edu URL;VALUE=URI:https://hls.harvard.edu/events/corporate-reckoning-how-busine sses-can-address-historical-wrongs/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://hls.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Kelman_CorporateReckoning.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:20260308T070000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR