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
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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