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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Song of the Water Saints
Book
2000s

Song of the Water Saints: A Novel, 2002

Alum
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.
Other Researchers
Tackling Jim Crow
Book
2000s

Tackling Jim Crow: Racial Segregation in Professional Football, 2003

No items found.
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.
Other Researchers
What Makes Racial Diversity Work in Higher Education
Article
2000s

The MIT Experience: Personal Perspectives on Race in a Predominantly White University, 2004

Administrator
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.
MIT Black History Project
Article
2000s

William Barton Rogers and the Southern Sieve, 2005

Administrator
An article examining the complicated relationship between MIT founder William Barton Rogers, his scientific career in the antebellum South, and the institution of slavery.
Other Researchers
The Serious Search for Black Faculty at MIT page
Article
1990s

The Serious Search for Black Faculty at MIT, 1995

Faculty
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.
Other Researchers
The Gilded Years
Book
2010s

The Gilded Years, 2016

Alum
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.
Other Researchers
HBCUs Facing the Future, 2012
Paper
2010s

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Facing the Future, 2012

Faculty
A 2012 study examining the challenges facing Historically Black Colleges and Universities and proposing strategies for their long-term sustainability and relevance.
Other Researchers
A Widening Sphere
Book
2010s

A Widening Sphere: Evolving Cultures at MIT, 2011

Administrator
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.
Other Researchers
Countless Connecting Threads, 2013
Book
2010s

Countless Connecting Threads, 2013

Administrator
A 2013 illustrated history of MIT celebrating the interconnected contributions of its faculty, students, and alumni across 150 years of science, engineering, and society.
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.
No items found.
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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