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
Including the Excluded: Concepts for Successful Integration of the US Academy, 2014
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
A lecture by MIT professor James Sherley on concepts for integrating underrepresented groups into the US scientific enterprise, delivered at a Johns Hopkins retreat.
Faculty
Civil Rights, the War on Poverty, and Black-White Convergence in Infant Mortality in the Rural South and Mississippi, 2006
Paper
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Paper
A 2006 public health study examining how civil rights legislation and the War on Poverty drove convergence in Black and white infant mortality rates in the rural South.
Faculty
Black Capitalism and Black Supermarkets, 1969
Paper
2017
Other Researchers
1960s
Other Researchers
1960s
Paper
A 1969 article by MIT economist Gordon Bloom examining the economics and social dimensions of Black-owned businesses and supermarkets in urban America.
Faculty
MIT's Black Hole: Dr. James L. Sherley is just the latest professor to protest the lack of Black tenured faculty at MIT, 2007
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Article
An article examining the broader pattern of Black faculty departures from MIT, placing the James Sherley case in the context of a longer institutional history.
No items found.
An Avoidable Black Eye for MIT: Professor James Sherley Is Dismissed and His Laboratory Padlocked, 2007
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Article
An analysis of the 2007 termination of MIT stem-cell researcher James L. Sherley, whose dismissal and hunger strike sparked a campus-wide debate on race and tenure.
No items found.
It's No Picnic for Black Faculty at MIT, 2007
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Article
A 2007 study documenting that Black faculty represent only about 3 percent of MIT's total faculty, analyzing the barriers to recruitment and retention.
No items found.
MIT's Mea Culpa: Now, What About Black Faculty?, 1999
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Article
A 1999 analysis of MIT's landmark report on discrimination against women faculty, and whether its findings would prompt similar action for Black faculty.
No items found.
The Scientific Development of the Negro, 1911
Paper
2017
Other Researchers
1910s
Other Researchers
1910s
Paper
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.
Alum
The Civil Engineer, 1946
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1940s
Other Researchers
1940s
Article
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.
Alum
The Desegregation of an Elite Economics Department’s PhD Program: Black Americans at MIT, 2014
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
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.
Alum
The African-American Linguist Who Broke the Faculty Barrier at MIT, 1997
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Article
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.
No items found.
The battle for ‘Trayvon Martin’: Mapping a media controversy online and off-line, 2014
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
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.
Faculty
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