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
1970s

Black entrepreneurship in the US: An historical appraisal, contemporary problems and future prospects (a study in demand for entrepreneurship), 1971

Student
A 1971 MIT dissertation by Robert Bofah examining the historical development of Black entrepreneurship in the United States and the structural barriers to its growth.
Other Researchers
The Negro and MIT
Article
1960s

The Negro and MIT, 1968

Student
An essay by MIT student Robert Fleming '71 published in 1968, examining the role and presence of Black students and faculty at the Institute during a pivotal moment in civil rights history.
Other Researchers
Victor C. Smith
Thesis
1930s

A study of homogenous combustion in gases, 1930

Student
The 1930 ScD thesis of Victor Claude Smith, one of the earliest Black doctoral graduates in chemical engineering in the United States, on combustion chemistry at MIT.
Other Researchers
Islandborn, 2018
Book
2010s

Islandborn, 2018

Faculty
A picture book by Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz, inspired by a child's longing for her Dominican homeland, celebrating culture, memory, and belonging.
Other Researchers
Thesis
1970s

Coping with Poverty and Prejudice: How Rural Blacks Adapt Environmentally to the Constraints of Society, 1978 [duplicate]

Student
A 1978 MIT thesis (alternate record) examining how poverty and racial prejudice shape the physical environments of rural Black Americans in the South.
Other Researchers
James Edward Young, 1946
Thesis
1950s

Propagation of sound in attenuating ducts containing absorptive strips, 1953

Student
A 1953 MIT doctoral thesis by James E. Young, who would become the Department of Physics' first Black tenured faculty member, on sound propagation in ducts with absorptive strips.
Other Researchers
Black Panther: Jungle Action (1973)
Other
1970s

Black Panther: Panther's Rage (1973)

Multiple
The 1973 Marvel comic story arc introducing Erik Killmonger, whose fictional backstory as an MIT-educated engineer shaped one of Black Panther's most enduring villains.
Other Researchers
Technology Review MIT News cover Jan/Feb 2018
Article
2010s

The Remarkable Career of Shirley Ann Jackson, 2017

Multiple
A Technology Review profile of Shirley Ann Jackson '68 PhD '73 — the first Black woman to earn a PhD from MIT — tracing her career in physics, policy, and university leadership.
Other Researchers
The present state of Hayti (Saint Domingo), 1971
Book
1970s

The present state of Hayti (Saint Domingo), 1828 [1971]

Faculty
A book offering a rare 19th-century firsthand account of Haitian agriculture, commerce, laws, and society, reissued in 1971 with context connecting it to MIT's history.
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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