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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Ron McNair in The Physics of Karate, 1979
Article
1970s

The Physics of Karate, 1979

Faculty
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.
Other Researchers
Michael Feld and Ron McNair
Article
2010s

Counteracting Hate with Positive Diversity Stories, 2017

Alum
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.
Other Researchers
Soldiers' Home
Thesis
1890s

A Soldiers Home, 1892

Student
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.
Other Researchers
Dallas Brown
Thesis
1910s

Comparative wearing tests on different makes of globe and gate valves, 1910

Student
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.
Other Researchers
Page from The Negro Farmer
Article
1910s

The Negro Farmer [excerpt]

Alum
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.
Other Researchers
Bengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America, 2013
Book
2010s

Bengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America, 2013

Faculty
A history of Bengali Muslim immigrants in early 20th-century America, tracing forgotten communities in Harlem and beyond, by MIT professor Vivek Bald.
Other Researchers
Crazy Enough To Try, 2015
Book
2010s

Crazy Enough To Try, 2015

Alum
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.
Other Researchers
This Is How You Lose Her, 2012
Book
2010s

This Is How You Lose Her, 2012

Faculty
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.
Other Researchers
Phantasmal Media, 2013
Book
2010s

Phantasmal Media, 2013

Faculty
A 2013 MIT Press book by D. Fox Harrell examining how computing systems shape imagination, identity, memory, and social experience.
Other Researchers
Type
Timeline
Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities: Building Bridges of Hope through the Holy Spirit, 2015
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A book by MIT alumnus exploring the intersection of racism, health disparities, and spiritual well-being, drawing on theology and public health to propose a path toward healing.
Alum
Ron's Big Mission, 2009
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Book
A children's picture book about young Ron McNair's determined trip to a segregated library in 1959, a pivotal moment that set the future MIT physicist and astronaut on his path.
Alum
Abundance of Miracles: Autobiography of Charles A. Cofield, 2013
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
The autobiography of Charles A. Cofield, MIT Class of 1972, tracing his path from Howard University student on the night of MLK's assassination to architect and community builder.
Alum
Song of the Water Saints: A Novel, 2002
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Book
A debut novel by MIT writing professor Nelly Rosario tracing three generations of Dominican women across continents, blending poetic prose with the weight of memory and migration.
Alum
Tackling Jim Crow: Racial Segregation in Professional Football, 2003
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Book
A book documenting the history of racial segregation in professional football, with a focus on MIT alumnus William Arthur Johnson who broke the color barrier in the NFL.
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The MIT Experience: Personal Perspectives on Race in a Predominantly White University, 2004
Article
2017
MIT Black History Project
2000s
MIT Black History Project
2000s
Article
An article by MIT's Clarence G. Williams reflecting on his experiences of race at the Institute, published as a chapter in a volume on diversity in higher education.
Administrator
William Barton Rogers and the Southern Sieve, 2005
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Article
An article examining the complicated relationship between MIT founder William Barton Rogers, his scientific career in the antebellum South, and the institution of slavery.
Administrator
The Serious Search for Black Faculty at MIT, 1995
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Article
An article documenting MIT's 1995 efforts to recruit Black faculty, naming the eight tenured Black professors then at the Institute and examining the barriers to diversification.
Faculty
The Gilded Years, 2016
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A novel by Karin Tanabe based on the true story of Anita Hemmings, who passed as white at Vassar in 1897, with a fictional subplot involving her brother, a connection to MIT.
Alum
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Facing the Future, 2012
Paper
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Paper
A 2012 study examining the challenges facing Historically Black Colleges and Universities and proposing strategies for their long-term sustainability and relevance.
Faculty
A Widening Sphere: Evolving Cultures at MIT, 2011
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A 2011 MIT Press book tracing the evolution of MIT's culture from its 1861 founding through more than a century of growth, diversity, and institutional transformation.
Administrator
Countless Connecting Threads, 2013
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A 2013 illustrated history of MIT celebrating the interconnected contributions of its faculty, students, and alumni across 150 years of science, engineering, and society.
Administrator
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