Penn Museum apologized Monday for collecting the skulls of Black Americans, vowing to return them to their communities.

In a statement to CBS News, Dr. Christopher Woods, director of Penn Museum, said that the museum and the University of Pennsylvania of Archaeology and Anthropology regret the “unethical possession of human remains.”

“It is time for these individuals to be returned to their ancestral communities, wherever possible, as a step toward atonement and repair for the racist and colonial practices that were integral to the formation of these collections,” Woods said.

Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, the curator at the African galleries at the Penn Museum, told Black News Tonight‘s Marc Lamont Hill that protests around the country had gotten Penn Museum “to repatriate these objects.”

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“Most of the museums present a narrative of U.S. history, which is grounded in white supremacy,” Zuberi said. “It’s time to end that.”

Penn Museum removed the skulls from public view in July following the protests over the killing of George Floyd, according to CBS News.

The museum’s Samuel G. Morton Cranial collection has over 1,300 skulls, according to reports.

“This is incredibly sensitive work,” Woods said. “And while we all desire to see the remains of these individuals reunited with their ancestral communities as quickly as possible, it is essential not to rush but to proceed with the utmost care and diligence. As we confront a legacy of racism and colonialism, it is our moral imperative to do so.”