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

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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
Interview: Linda Sharpe '69, MIT Alumni President, 2013
Oral History
2018
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Oral History
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.
Alum
Ernie Cohen '64 in His Own Words, 2014
Oral History
2018
MIT Black History Project
2010s
MIT Black History Project
2010s
Oral History
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.
Alum
Journey Towards Making a Better World: In Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of The Founding of The Black Students Union at MIT, 2018
Report
2018
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Report
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.
Administrator
Broken Bonds: My Immoderate Life of Love, Passion, War on Affirmative Action and Jack Welch's GE, 2004
Book
2018
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Book
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.
Alum
Reflections of the Dream, 1996
Book
2017
MIT Black History Project
1990s
MIT Black History Project
1990s
Book
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.
Administrator
The BSU at 50, 2018
Article
2018
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
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.
Multiple
African American Women Chemists, 2011
Book
2018
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
A book documenting the overlooked history of African American women who broke racial and gender barriers to become pioneering chemists across the 19th and 20th centuries.
Alum
Oral History: Jennie R. Patrick, 2006
Oral History
2018
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Oral History
An oral history interview with Dr. Jennie R. Patrick ScD '79, the first Black woman in the US to earn a doctorate in chemical engineering, conducted for the MIT Black History Project.
Alum
African American Women Chemists in the Modern Era, 2018
Book
2018
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Book
The second volume documenting African American women chemists, focusing on trailblazers from the mid-20th century onward, including several with MIT connections.
Multiple
The Diversity of Diversity: It’s More than Race, 2005
Article
2018
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Article
An article by MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay arguing that true diversity encompasses far more than race, calling for a richer institutional conversation about inclusion.
Alum
Autocracy, Violence, and Ethnomilitary Rule in Nigeria, 1999
Paper
2018
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Paper
A scholarly paper by MIT political scientist Willard Johnson examining autocracy, ethnic conflict, and military rule in Nigeria, presented at a 1997 MIT conference.
Visiting
Because I'm Black, 2018
Article
2018
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
A personal essay by MIT student Kenny Egbuonu '21 on the experience of being Black at MIT, published in the student journal Angles in 2018.
Student
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