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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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
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
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