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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Report
1980s

Report on Issues, Implications and Recommendations Related to Retention of Undergraduate Minority Students: Science and Engineering Fields, 1987

Administrator
A report prepared for MIT by Clarence G. Williams examining retention barriers for Black and minority undergraduates in science and engineering fields.
Other Researchers
Discrimination Conference, 1955
Article
1950s

Discrimination Conference Issue of The Tech, 1955

Student
The March 1955 issue of MIT's student newspaper covering the National Conference on Selectivity and Discrimination in American Universities, held on campus.
Other Researchers
Tuskegee (Weather) Airmen article splash
Article
2000s

Tuskegee (Weather) Airmen: Black Meteorologists in World War II, 2006

No items found.
An article documenting the role of MIT-trained Black meteorologists, including Tuskegee Airmen, in advancing WWII weather forecasting and American military aviation.
Other Researchers
Article
2010s

Including the Excluded: Concepts for Successful Integration of the US Academy, 2014

Faculty
A lecture by MIT professor James Sherley on concepts for integrating underrepresented groups into the US scientific enterprise, delivered at a Johns Hopkins retreat.
Other Researchers
Paper
2000s

Civil Rights, the War on Poverty, and Black-White Convergence in Infant Mortality in the Rural South and Mississippi, 2006

Faculty
A 2006 public health study examining how civil rights legislation and the War on Poverty drove convergence in Black and white infant mortality rates in the rural South.
Other Researchers
Paper
1960s

Black Capitalism and Black Supermarkets, 1969

Faculty
A 1969 article by MIT economist Gordon Bloom examining the economics and social dimensions of Black-owned businesses and supermarkets in urban America.
Other Researchers
Article
2000s

MIT's Black Hole: Dr. James L. Sherley is just the latest professor to protest the lack of Black tenured faculty at MIT, 2007

No items found.
An article examining the broader pattern of Black faculty departures from MIT, placing the James Sherley case in the context of a longer institutional history.
Other Researchers
James L. Sherley
Article
2000s

An Avoidable Black Eye for MIT: Professor James Sherley Is Dismissed and His Laboratory Padlocked, 2007

No items found.
An analysis of the 2007 termination of MIT stem-cell researcher James L. Sherley, whose dismissal and hunger strike sparked a campus-wide debate on race and tenure.
Other Researchers
James L. Sherley
Article
2000s

It's No Picnic for Black Faculty at MIT, 2007

No items found.
A 2007 study documenting that Black faculty represent only about 3 percent of MIT's total faculty, analyzing the barriers to recruitment and retention.
Other Researchers
Type
Timeline
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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