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
William Barton Rogers and the Idea of MIT, 2008
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Book
A book tracing the educational vision of MIT founder William Barton Rogers, placing his ideas about polytechnic education in the context of 19th-century American science and reform.
Administrator
Inscribed matter as an energy-efficient means of communication with an extraterrestrial civilization, 2004
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Article
A 2004 MIT thesis exploring inscribed matter as an energy-efficient method for interstellar or long-duration communication scenarios.
Alum
Holding the Center: Memoirs of a Life in Higher Education, 1999
Book
2017
Other Researchers
1990s
Other Researchers
1990s
Book
The memoirs of Howard Wesley Johnson, MIT's 12th president, reflecting on his career leading the Institute through decades of social and institutional change.
Administrator
Democracy and New Media in Developing Nations: Opportunities and Challenges, 2003
Book
2017
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Book
A chapter by MIT alumnus Adam Clayton Powell III '67 examining how new media technologies present both opportunities and obstacles for democracy in the developing world.
Alum
The Ghetto: Five Years of Black Radio, 1975
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1970s
Other Researchers
1970s
Article
An article documenting the history of WTBS's 'The Ghetto,' the Black Students' Union soul-music radio program that served the Cambridge and Boston community for five years.
Student
Transcript: Interview with Ramona B. Allen, 1996
Oral History
2017
MIT Black History Project
1990s
MIT Black History Project
1990s
Oral History
An oral history interview with Ramona B. Allen, dean for Human Resources in MIT's School of Architecture and Planning, conducted for the Technology and the Dream project.
Administrator
Interview with Phillip L. Clay, 2002
Oral History
2017
MIT Black History Project
2000s
MIT Black History Project
2000s
Oral History
A 2002 oral history interview with MIT urban planning professor Phillip L. Clay, conducted by Clarence G. Williams for the MIT Black History Project.
Multiple
Frat President: James Evans heads chapter of Pi Lambda Phi, 1961
Article
2017
Other Researchers
1960s
Other Researchers
1960s
Article
A 1961 Ebony magazine article announcing James Carmichael Evans Jr. as president of a Pi Lambda Phi chapter, marking a milestone in Black fraternity life at MIT.
Student
The Negro in the Army: Policy and Practice, 1948
Book
2017
Other Researchers
1940s
Other Researchers
1940s
Book
A book-length summary prepared for the Secretary of the Army in 1948 by MIT alumnus James Evans '26 on the policy and practice of Black service in the U.S. Army.
Alum
If Your Name Is Powell, Take a Number, 2010
Article
2017
2010s
2010s
Article
A profile of MIT alumnus Adam Clayton Powell IV '92, navigating his own identity and career in the long shadow of a prominent political family dynasty.
Alum
A Study of the Pulsating Growth of Cumulus Clouds, 1960
Thesis
2017
Other Researchers
1960s
Other Researchers
1960s
Thesis
The 1960 doctoral dissertation of MIT meteorologist Charles Anderson, a Tuskegee Airman, on the pulsating growth of cumulus clouds over Arizona mountains.
Student
From the NFL to MIT: The Double Life of John Urschel, 2017
Article
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
A profile of MIT math PhD student and NFL offensive lineman John Urschel, who pursued elite athletics and advanced mathematics simultaneously before retiring to focus on research.
Student
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