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.

Filter
Clear all
Showing 0 of 100
Researcher
Type
Timeline
MIT Affiliation
Clear all
Filter close icon
Filter open icon
Filters
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
Henry C. McBay: A Chemical Festschrift, 1994
Proceedings
2017
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Proceedings
Proceedings of a 1994 symposium honoring MIT-affiliated chemist Henry C. McBay, featuring tributes from colleagues across the scientific community.
Visiting
Affirmative action got me into MIT. The cycle that disadvantaged me continues.
Article
2020
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
MIT alumnus Rodgerick Newhouse '97 reflects on how affirmative action opened MIT's doors for him, and why the systemic inequities that shaped his path have yet to be addressed.
Alum
On Indigenous People’s Day, Let’s Commit to an Anticolonial Mindset on Earth and in Space, 2020
Article
2020
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
An essay by MIT student Danielle Wood calling for an anticolonial approach to science and technology on Indigenous People's Day, grounded in land acknowledgment.
Multiple
Maude Ross & Karen Ross Grant, 2017
Oral History
2020
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Oral History
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.
Alum
My 21 Years in the White House, 1960
Book
2017
Other Researchers
1960s
Other Researchers
1960s
Book
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.
Staff
Engineering while Black, 2020
Article
2020
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
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.
Student
A small-pond fish in the sea, 2020
Article
2020
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
MIT biological engineering graduate Benjamin Oberlton '19 reflects on navigating MIT as a Black student before beginning his immunology PhD at Stanford.
Student
A front-row seat to #BlackLivesMatter, 2020
Article
2020
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
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.
Student
MIT and Black Greek Letter Organizations: An Interview, 2020
Article
2020
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
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.
Student
The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea, 2017
Book
2020
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
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.
Alum
Our Country, ‘Tis A Thief, 2020
Article
2020
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
A personal essay by MIT student Alula Hunsen examining systemic theft and exploitation as foundational elements of American prosperity, from slavery to the present.
Student
Peddler Dolls: Portraying Cryes of Old London and Itinerant Merchants of Early America, 1962-1973
Book
2017
Other Researchers
1960s
Other Researchers
1960s
Book
A scholarly study of peddler dolls depicting historical street vendors, connected to MIT research on trade, material culture, and Atlantic world commerce.
Alum
No results found.
There are no results with this criteria. Try changing your search.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Have a piece of MIT black history to share?

If you have an important item you believe the project should consider for its collection, please share it with the MIT Black History Project.

Share History