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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Thesis
1950s

Community facilities in a redevelopment area: a study and proposal for the Ellicott District in Buffalo, New York, 1955

Alum
A 1955 MIT thesis by Robert Traynham Coles proposing a community facilities plan for the Ellicott District in Buffalo, NY, a redevelopment area with a significant Black population.
Other Researchers
Architecture + Advocacy, 2016
Book
2010s

Architecture + Advocacy, 2016

Alum
A richly illustrated book on Robert Traynham Coles, the African American architect from Buffalo who became a leading voice for social advocacy through design.
Other Researchers
STEM Gems, 2016
Book
2010s

STEM Gems: How 44 Women Shine in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and How You Can Too!, 2016

Alum
A book by MIT alumna Stephanie Espy profiling 44 women in STEM fields, designed to inspire girls to pursue science and engineering through diverse role models and career stories.
Other Researchers
Linda-Sharpe_2004
Oral History
2010s

Interview: Linda Sharpe '69, MIT Alumni President, 2013

Alum
A 2013 interview with Linda Sharpe '69, the first Black woman to serve as president of the MIT Alumni Association, reflecting on her MIT years and volunteer leadership.
Other Researchers
Ernie Cohen, 1964
Oral History
2010s

Ernie Cohen '64 in His Own Words, 2014

Alum
A 2014 BAMIT newsletter tribute to Ernest Cohen '64, sharing his personal reflections on being a Black student at MIT during the civil rights era.
MIT Black History Project
Journey Towards Making a Better World
Report
2010s

Journey Towards Making a Better World: In Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of The Founding of The Black Students Union at MIT, 2018

Administrator
A report documenting MIT Black Students' Union's 50th anniversary trip to Washington D.C. in 2018, organized to deepen students' appreciation of African American history and culture.
Other Researchers
Broken Bonds: My Immoderate Life of Love, Passion, War on Affirmative Action and Jack Welch's GE, 2004
Book
2000s

Broken Bonds: My Immoderate Life of Love, Passion, War on Affirmative Action and Jack Welch's GE, 2004

Alum
A memoir by a Black GE executive recounting his experiences with affirmative action, corporate discrimination, and a contentious career inside Jack Welch's General Electric.
Other Researchers
Reflections of the Dream
Book
1990s

Reflections of the Dream, 1996

Administrator
A book collecting speeches from MIT's annual Martin Luther King Jr. convocation over two decades, celebrating the legacy of the civil rights movement and Black achievement at the Institute.
MIT Black History Project
HS student visitors to MIT, 1972
Article
2010s

The BSU at 50, 2018

Multiple
A Technology Review article marking the 50th anniversary of MIT's Black Students' Union, tracing the organization's founding in 1968 and its lasting impact on the Institute.
Other Researchers
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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