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
The M.I.T. Fellows in Africa Program, 1963
Article
2022
Other Researchers
1960s
Other Researchers
1960s
Article
An article documenting the MIT Fellows in Africa Program, conceived in 1960 to send MIT-trained professionals to support newly independent African nations.
Faculty
MIT Sloan’s first tenured female professor tackled workplace discrimination, 2021
Article
2021
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
A profile of MIT Sloan professor Phyllis Wallace, the first tenured Black woman at MIT Sloan, who led landmark research on workplace discrimination and the AT&T case.
Faculty
Linda Datcher Loury: Pioneer in social economics, 2011
Article
2021
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
A 2011 Boston Globe obituary for MIT economist Linda Datcher Loury PhD '78, a pioneer in social economics whose research on race, family, and inequality shaped the field.
Alum
INTERPHASE 45th Anniversary- Honoring the Legacy: Past, Present, and Future (2014)
Other
2021
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Other
Program booklet for the 45th anniversary celebration of MIT's Interphase program, honoring its legacy of preparing underrepresented students for STEM success at MIT.
Administrator
Technology and the Dream, 2001
Book
2017
MIT Black History Project
2000s
MIT Black History Project
2000s
Book
A landmark MIT Press book collecting over 75 oral history interviews with Black students, faculty, and staff reflecting on six decades of the Black experience at the Institute.
Administrator
Journey of The Lost Souls (JoTLS), 2013
Book
2018
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A 2013 collection of rap poems and reflections by MIT-connected author Robert Dunbar exploring themes of identity, struggle, and redemption.
Alum
Carrie Mae Weems, 2021
Other
2021
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Other
An MIT Press monograph of essays and interviews exploring the photography and art of Carrie Mae Weems and its significance within African American art history.
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I'm A Black, Gay Physician. I'm Here Today Because My Friends Saw Me — All Of Me, 2021
Article
2021
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
MIT alumnus Chase T.M. Anderson MD '11 writes about surviving a mental health crisis as a Black gay physician, crediting the friends who recognized his distress and intervened.
Alum
Race and Excellence: My Dialogue with Chester Pierce, 1998
Book
2021
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Book
A book documenting wide-ranging conversations between Clarence G. Williams and MIT psychiatrist Chester Pierce, a pioneering scholar of racism's psychological effects who served the Institute for 25 years.
Faculty
Maria W. Stewart, America’s First Black Woman Political Writer: Essays and Speeches, 1987
Book
2018
Other Researchers
1980s
Other Researchers
1980s
Book
A scholarly edition of writings by Maria W. Stewart, the first American-born woman to speak publicly on political topics, edited by MIT professor Marilyn Richardson.
Faculty
Building an Online Home for Black History, 2021
Article
2021
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
A 2021 profile of MIT alumnus Ken Granderson '85 and his mission to build BlackFacts.com into a comprehensive online resource for Black history and culture.
Alum
Meeting Whirlwind's Joe Thompson, 2019
Article
2021
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
A profile of Joe Thompson, one of the first two Black employees trained on MIT's Whirlwind computer in 1951, documenting an overlooked chapter in computing history.
Staff
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