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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Article
1990s

MIT's Mea Culpa: Now, What About Black Faculty?, 1999

No items found.
A 1999 analysis of MIT's landmark report on discrimination against women faculty, and whether its findings would prompt similar action for Black faculty.
Other Researchers
Technology and Insustrial Efficiency cover
Paper
1910s

The Scientific Development of the Negro, 1911

Alum
A paper delivered by Robert Robinson Taylor '92 at MIT's 50th anniversary celebration in 1911, arguing for the scientific education of Black Americans as a path to progress.
Other Researchers
Article
1940s

The Civil Engineer, 1946

Alum
An article profiling Lewis King Downing '24, the first Black graduate of MIT's Sloan School, who went on to a distinguished career as a civil engineer and college president.
Other Researchers
Article
2010s

The Desegregation of an Elite Economics Department’s PhD Program: Black Americans at MIT, 2014

Alum
An article tracing the history of Black PhD students in MIT's economics department from the 1970s onward, examining barriers to entry and outcomes over four decades.
Other Researchers
J.R. Applegate
Article
1990s

The African-American Linguist Who Broke the Faculty Barrier at MIT, 1997

No items found.
An article documenting how Joseph Applegate, MIT's first Black faculty member, broke the faculty color barrier as a linguist in 1955 and paved the way for those who followed.
Other Researchers
Figure 2- The battle for ‘Trayvon Martin’
Article
2010s

The battle for ‘Trayvon Martin’: Mapping a media controversy online and off-line, 2014

Faculty
An academic article by MIT professor Sasha Costanza-Chock analyzing how the Trayvon Martin case spread through social media and shaped public discourse on race and violence.
Other Researchers
Article
1990s

Role Models and Mentors for Blacks at Predominantly White Campuses, 1994

Administrator
An article arguing that educators must invest in mentorship and role models for Black students at predominantly white institutions to improve retention and success.
MIT Black History Project
Grid of students prior to the Class of 1930
Thesis
1980s

Notes on Researching Blacks at MIT prior to the Class of 1930, 1983

Student
A 1983 MIT research note reconstructing the fragmentary records of early Black students at MIT before the Class of 1930.
Other Researchers
Type
Timeline
Mind and Hand: The Birth of MIT, 2005
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Book
A 2005 MIT Press history of the Institute's founding, tracing the origins of MIT's motto 'Mens et Manus' and the vision behind America's first major research university.
No items found.
The Racial Climate on the MIT Campus, 1986
Report
2017
Other Researchers
1980s
Other Researchers
1980s
Report
A report examining the racial climate at MIT, documenting the experiences of Black students, faculty, and staff and recommending concrete steps to improve the campus environment.
Administrator
A Study of the Number of Black Graduate Student Applications for Fall, 1970
Report
2017
Other Researchers
1970s
Other Researchers
1970s
Report
A 1970 statistical study of Black graduate school applicants across 25 major universities, examining enrollment trends and barriers at the height of the civil rights era.
No items found.
Professor Joseph Applegate, 1997
Article
2017
MIT Black History Project
1990s
MIT Black History Project
1990s
Article
A Tech Talk article profiling Joseph Applegate, MIT's first Black faculty member and a pioneering linguist, published for African-American Heritage Month in 1997.
Administrator
A Break in the Pipeline, 1999
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Article
A 1999 Technology Review article examining the underrepresentation of Black faculty and students in the academic pipeline at MIT and peer institutions.
Administrator
1st National Conference on Issues Facing Black Administrators at Predominantly White Colleges and Universities, 1982
Proceedings
2017
MIT Black History Project
1980s
MIT Black History Project
1980s
Proceedings
Proceedings from the 1982 national conference examining the challenges faced by Black administrators working in predominantly white colleges and universities.
Administrator
The Rhetoric of Sex, the Discourse of Desire, 1992
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Article
An article by science fiction author Samuel Delany, originally delivered as a 1992 MIT lecture, exploring the rhetoric of sex and the politics of desire in literary and cultural discourse.
Visiting
Ebony and Ivy, 2013
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A history of how elite American universities including Harvard and MIT were shaped by and helped perpetuate the ideology and economy of slavery, by scholar Craig Steven Wilder.
Faculty
NACA Report: Dynamics of Mechanical Feedback-Type Hydraulic Servomotors Under Inertia Loads, 1953
Report
2017
Other Researchers
1950s
Other Researchers
1950s
Report
A NACA technical report by MIT-trained aeronautical engineer Yenwith Whitney analyzing the dynamics of hydraulic servomotors used in aircraft control systems.
Alum
Report on Issues, Implications and Recommendations Related to Retention of Undergraduate Minority Students: Science and Engineering Fields, 1987
Report
2017
Other Researchers
1980s
Other Researchers
1980s
Report
A report prepared for MIT by Clarence G. Williams examining retention barriers for Black and minority undergraduates in science and engineering fields.
Administrator
Discrimination Conference Issue of The Tech, 1955
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1950s
Other Researchers
1950s
Article
The March 1955 issue of MIT's student newspaper covering the National Conference on Selectivity and Discrimination in American Universities, held on campus.
Student
Tuskegee (Weather) Airmen: Black Meteorologists in World War II, 2006
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Article
An article documenting the role of MIT-trained Black meteorologists, including Tuskegee Airmen, in advancing WWII weather forecasting and American military aviation.
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