Archive

Archive

The MIT Black History Project has archived over 3,000 pieces of history related to the black experience at the Institute dating back to the 1870s. We thank our many donors, volunteers, and stakeholders for making this significant effort possible. Images on this website are subject to copyright laws and may not be duplicated without permission.

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Astronaut candidates R. McNair, G. Bluford, and F. Gregory
Image
1970s

NASA astronaut candidates Ronald McNair, Guion Bluford, and Frederick Gregory, 1978

School of Engineering
Aeronautics and Astronautics
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Science
Technology
Integration and Differentiation 1969-1994
Magazine features
NASA
Ronald E. McNair
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Bennie F. L. Ward, 2025
2020s

Bennie F. L. Ward, 2025

School of Science
Mathematics
Physics
Black Students' Union (BSU)
Education
Science
Conferences
Integration and Differentiation 1969-1994
MIT Quarter Century Club
Rising Voices 1995-Present
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"Sisters in Making" exhibit, 2024
Image
2020s

MIT Libraries "Sisters in Making" exhibit, 2024

School of Architecture and Planning
Architecture
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Engineering
Government & Law
Science
Technology
Exhibits
NASA
Rising Voices 1995-Present
Students
Women
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MIT Spotlight: Martin Luther King Day, 2024
Image
2020s

MIT Spotlight: Martin Luther King Day, 2024

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Community
Activism
Administrators
Illustrations
Integration and Differentiation 1969-1994
Latinx and Latin America(n)
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Joseph S. Dunning, 1937
Image
1930s

Joseph S. Dunning, 1937

School of Engineering
Aeronautics and Astronautics
No items found.
Community
Technology
Transportation
Harvard
NAACP
Order of Operations 1921-1945
Stanford
Students
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Herbert L. Hardy, 1952
Image
1950s

Herbert L. Hardy, 1952

School of Science
Physics
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No items found.
Potential Output 1946-1954
Students
Technique Yearbook
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Herbert L. Hardy and boys with electrical equipment, ca. 1951
Image
1950s

Herbert L. Hardy and boys with electrical equipment, ca. 1951

School of Science
Physics
No items found.
Engineering
Potential Output 1946-1954
STEM Education
Students
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John Stroman at MITSO rehearsal, 1977
Image
1970s

John Stroman at MITSO rehearsal, 1977

School of Engineering
Aeronautics and Astronautics
No items found.
Arts & Humanities
Community
Integration and Differentiation 1969-1994
Marcus A. Thompson
Music
Ronald E. McNair
Students
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Philip Abel Adama in a scene from 'Brief Tender Light,' 2023
Audio
2020s

African-born students shine as agents of change in documentary 'Brief Tender Light' (2023)

School of Engineering
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
African Students' Association (ASA)
Arts & Humanities
Community
Africa(n)
Rising Voices 1995-Present
Students
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Type
Timeline
Robert R. Taylor with classmates, 1892
Image
1890s
2017
Robert Robinson Taylor with MIT classmates, 1892, the first known Black MIT graduate. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
School of Architecture and Planning
Architecture
No items found.
Engineering
Booker T. Washington
Robert R. Taylor
Roots and Exponents 1875-1920
Students
Robert R. Taylor, 1892
Image
1890s
2017
Robert Robinson Taylor, MIT Class of 1892, the first known Black student to graduate from MIT. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
School of Architecture and Planning
Architecture
No items found.
Education
Engineering
Booker T. Washington
Ellen Swallow Richards
Robert R. Taylor
Roots and Exponents 1875-1920
Students
Illustration: Society of '87, 1887
Document
1880s
2017
Society of '87 illustration, 1887, the earliest graphic evidence of Black presence in MIT publications. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
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No items found.
Illustrations
Roots and Exponents 1875-1920
Students
Technique Yearbook
Warren E. Henry, ca. 1943
Image
1940s
2017
A profile of Warren Elliott Henry, a chemist-physicist who trained at MIT around 1943 and whose roots trace to Tuskegee, where George Washington Carver was a family acquaintance.
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Education
Engineering
Military
Science
HBCUs
Howard University
MIT Rad Lab
Morehouse
Tuskegee
John B. Dixon, 1899
Image
1890s
2017
John Brown Dixon, MIT Class of 1899, one of the earliest Black graduates of the Institute. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
School of Science
Chemistry
No items found.
Science
Family
Howard University
Roots and Exponents 1875-1920
Students
Technique Yearbook
Wendell P. Terrell, 1906
Image
1900s
2017
Wendell Phillip Terrell '06, son of two Texas educators, documents one of MIT's earliest Black graduates and the educational legacy his family carried into the twentieth century.
School of Architecture and Planning
School of Engineering
Architecture
Mechanical Engineering
No items found.
Education
Engineering
Military
HBCUs
Roots and Exponents 1875-1920
Students
Technique Yearbook
Emmett J. Scott, 1921
Image
1920s
2017
Emmett Jay Scott Jr., MIT Class of 1921, civil engineer, served in WWI and the Foreign Operations Administration. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
School of Engineering
Civil and Environmental Engineering
No items found.
Engineering
Government & Law
Military
Booker T. Washington
Howard University
Middle East
Order of Operations 1921-1945
Students
Tribute to William H. Ramsey (2015)
Video
2010s
2017
Tribute to OEOP director William H. Ramsey, delivered by Dedric Carter at MIT, 2015. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
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Administration
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Community
Education
Science
Technology
Administrators
Honors
Mentorship
MITES
Rising Voices 1995-Present
"I Was Here" by Chelsi E. Green (2013)
Video
2010s
2017
Chelsi E. Green, MIT Class of 2013 and McNair Scholar, performs a cover of I Was Here as a class tribute. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
School of Science
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
No items found.
Health & Medicine
Commencement
L. Rafael Reif
Music
Pop Culture
Rising Voices 1995-Present
Hubert E. Jones, Mass. Humanities Governor's Award in the Humanities (2014)
Video
2010s
2017
Hubert E. Jones, MIT DUSP professor 1973-77, receives the Massachusetts Humanities Governor's Award, 2014. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
School of Architecture and Planning
Urban Studies and Planning
No items found.
Community
Education
Community Fellows Program
Faculty
Honors
Integration and Differentiation 1969-1994
Music
MIT Spotlight: Marlyse Reeves '17
Image
2010s
2017
Marlyse Reeves, MIT Class of 2017, president of MIT Women in Aerospace Engineering student group. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
School of Engineering
Aeronautics and Astronautics
Women in Aerospace Engineering (WAE)
Community
Engineering
Mentorship
MIT Spotlight
NASA
Rising Voices 1995-Present
Students
President Obama visits the Hammond Lab, 2009
Image
2000s
2017
President Obama visits Paula Hammond's lab at MIT during his 2009 campus visit. Part of the MIT Black History Project archive.
School of Engineering
Chemical Engineering
No items found.
Community
Education
Engineering
Government & Law
Science
Faculty
Paula T. Hammond
Rising Voices 1995-Present
Women
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