Publications

Publications

The MIT Black History Project is committed to collecting, developing, curating, and preserving content on the Black experience at MIT dating back to 1865. We are also currently working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the challenges we all face within the greater scope of the Institute’s mission and accomplishments.

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Karen Ross Grant, 2017
Oral History
2010s

Maude Ross & Karen Ross Grant, 2017

Alum
A digital exhibit exploring the lives of Maude Ross and Karen Ross Grant, connecting the stories of two Black women across generations through a South Carolina archive.
Other Researchers
My 21 Years in the White House, 1960
Book
1960s

My 21 Years in the White House, 1960

Staff
The memoir of Alonzo Fields, a Black MIT service worker who rose to become Chief Usher at the White House, serving four presidents over 21 years.
Other Researchers
Victor Anioke
Article
2020s

Engineering while Black, 2020

Student
MIT alumnus Vincent Anioke '17, a software engineer at Google, reflects on being Black in the tech industry and the reckoning that followed George Floyd's death.
Other Researchers
Benjamin Oberlton
Article
2020s

A small-pond fish in the sea, 2020

Student
MIT biological engineering graduate Benjamin Oberlton '19 reflects on navigating MIT as a Black student before beginning his immunology PhD at Stanford.
Other Researchers
Veronica Muriga
Article
2020s

A front-row seat to #BlackLivesMatter, 2020

Student
MIT student Veronica Muriga '22 summarizes the 2020 petition supporting Black lives at MIT, offering a first-person account of the campus response to the racial justice movement.
Other Researchers
Kidist Adamu
Article
2020s

MIT and Black Greek Letter Organizations: An Interview, 2020

Student
A 2020 MIT interview with Black members of Greek letter organizations discussing the role of fraternities, sororities, and other groups in the Black MIT student experience.
Other Researchers
The Making of Black Lives Matter, 2017
Book
2010s

The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea, 2017

Alum
A book by MIT PhD alumnus Christopher Lebron tracing the philosophical and intellectual origins of the Black Lives Matter movement and its roots in the tradition of Black political thought.
Other Researchers
The Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans on Aug. 24, 2015. (Mario Tama/Getty)
Article
2020s

Our Country, ‘Tis A Thief, 2020

Student
A personal essay by MIT student Alula Hunsen examining systemic theft and exploitation as foundational elements of American prosperity, from slavery to the present.
Other Researchers
Peddler Dolls books by The Turner Sisters
Book
1960s

Peddler Dolls: Portraying Cryes of Old London and Itinerant Merchants of Early America, 1962-1973

Alum
A scholarly study of peddler dolls depicting historical street vendors, connected to MIT research on trade, material culture, and Atlantic world commerce.
Other Researchers
Type
Timeline
The Physics of Karate, 1979
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1970s
Other Researchers
1970s
Article
A Scientific American article co-authored by MIT physicist Ronald McNair PhD '77 and his mentor Michael Feld, analyzing the biomechanics behind how martial artists break boards with bare hands.
Faculty
Counteracting Hate with Positive Diversity Stories, 2017
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
A 2017 article examining the friendship between MIT physicist Michael Feld and a Black colleague, and how their bond became a model for countering hate with positive diversity.
Alum
A Soldiers Home, 1892
Thesis
2017
Other Researchers
1890s
Other Researchers
1890s
Thesis
An 1892 architectural thesis by Robert Robinson Taylor, MIT's first Black graduate, documenting a design for a soldiers' home and marking a historic first in American architectural education.
Student
Comparative wearing tests on different makes of globe and gate valves, 1910
Thesis
2017
Other Researchers
1910s
Other Researchers
1910s
Thesis
The 1910 MIT thesis of Dallas Brown Jr. '10, one of the Institute's early Black graduates, on comparative wear testing of industrial valves used in mechanical engineering.
Student
The Negro Farmer [excerpt]
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1910s
Other Researchers
1910s
Article
An article excerpt by Robert Robinson Taylor '92 written for MIT's 1913 Negro Farmer publication, describing the work of training Black agricultural professionals at Tuskegee.
Alum
Bengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America, 2013
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A history of Bengali Muslim immigrants in early 20th-century America, tracing forgotten communities in Harlem and beyond, by MIT professor Vivek Bald.
Faculty
Crazy Enough To Try, 2015
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A 2015 book by MIT-connected author Joi Gordon encouraging readers to integrate personal passion into their professional lives, drawing on her own journey from student to nonprofit leader.
Alum
This Is How You Lose Her, 2012
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A novel by MIT professor Junot Diaz following the passions and losses of Yunior, a Dominican-American man navigating love and identity across New Jersey and the Caribbean.
Faculty
Phantasmal Media, 2013
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A 2013 MIT Press book by D. Fox Harrell examining how computing systems shape imagination, identity, memory, and social experience.
Faculty
Resisting Reality: Social Construction and Social Critique, 2012
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A book by MIT professor Sally Haslanger examining social construction theory and its application to race, gender, and other contested social categories.
Faculty
Black Faces in White Places, 2010
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A 2010 book by MIT Sloan alumnus Randal Pinkett offering strategies for Black professionals navigating and succeeding in predominantly white institutions and industries.
Alum
CyPhrons: Code of the Realm, 2011
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A science fiction novel featuring CyPhrons, virtual beings navigating a coded realm, in a story of hope, faith, and perseverance by an MIT-connected author.
Alum
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