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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Mind and Hand
Book
2000s

Mind and Hand: The Birth of MIT, 2005

No items found.
A 2005 MIT Press history of the Institute's founding, tracing the origins of MIT's motto 'Mens et Manus' and the vision behind America's first major research university.
Other Researchers
Report
1980s

The Racial Climate on the MIT Campus, 1986

Administrator
A report examining the racial climate at MIT, documenting the experiences of Black students, faculty, and staff and recommending concrete steps to improve the campus environment.
Other Researchers
Report
1970s

A Study of the Number of Black Graduate Student Applications for Fall, 1970

No items found.
A 1970 statistical study of Black graduate school applicants across 25 major universities, examining enrollment trends and barriers at the height of the civil rights era.
Other Researchers
Joseph Applegate
Article
1990s

Professor Joseph Applegate, 1997

Administrator
A Tech Talk article profiling Joseph Applegate, MIT's first Black faculty member and a pioneering linguist, published for African-American Heritage Month in 1997.
MIT Black History Project
Article splash
Article
1990s

A Break in the Pipeline, 1999

Administrator
A 1999 Technology Review article examining the underrepresentation of Black faculty and students in the academic pipeline at MIT and peer institutions.
Other Researchers
Brochure cover
Proceedings
1980s

1st National Conference on Issues Facing Black Administrators at Predominantly White Colleges and Universities, 1982

Administrator
Proceedings from the 1982 national conference examining the challenges faced by Black administrators working in predominantly white colleges and universities.
MIT Black History Project
Shorter Views
Article
1990s

The Rhetoric of Sex, the Discourse of Desire, 1992

Visiting
An article by science fiction author Samuel Delany, originally delivered as a 1992 MIT lecture, exploring the rhetoric of sex and the politics of desire in literary and cultural discourse.
Other Researchers
Ebony & Ivy cover
Book
2010s

Ebony and Ivy, 2013

Faculty
A history of how elite American universities including Harvard and MIT were shaped by and helped perpetuate the ideology and economy of slavery, by scholar Craig Steven Wilder.
Other Researchers
NACA Report: Dynamics of Mechanical Feedback-Type Hydraulic Servomotors Under Inertia Loads, 1953
Report
1950s

NACA Report: Dynamics of Mechanical Feedback-Type Hydraulic Servomotors Under Inertia Loads, 1953

Alum
A NACA technical report by MIT-trained aeronautical engineer Yenwith Whitney analyzing the dynamics of hydraulic servomotors used in aircraft control systems.
Other Researchers
MIT's Minority Success Record, 1988
Article
2017
MIT Black History Project
1980s
MIT Black History Project
1980s
Article
A 1988 report examining MIT's record of minority student success, including enrollment, graduation, and outcomes data for Black and other underrepresented students.
Administrator
From 'Tech' to Tuskegee, 1998
Article
2017
MIT Black History Project
1990s
MIT Black History Project
1990s
Article
A 1998 article tracing the deep historical ties between MIT and Tuskegee Institute, from Robert Robinson Taylor's graduation in 1892 through decades of shared mission.
Administrator
Illuminating the successes and struggles of MIT Black history, 2023
Article
2023
MIT Black History Project
2020s
MIT Black History Project
2020s
Article
A 2023 MIT News profile of the MIT Black History Project, documenting its mission to research and preserve over 150 years of Black life and achievement at the Institute.
Multiple
The long path to inclusivity, 2020
Article
2022
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
A Technology Review article reflecting on MIT's decade-long progress following the 2010 Hammond report on faculty race and diversity, assessing what changed and what didn't.
No items found.
Report of The Initiative for Faculty Race and Diversity, 2010
Report
2017
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Report
A report from MIT's Initiative for Faculty Race and Diversity, examining the state of Black and minority faculty representation and making recommendations for improvement.
Faculty
Archival Elements (2021)
Article
2023
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
The 2021 issue of the Society of American Archivists newsletter featuring MIT Black History Project coverage on archival methods and culturally significant collections.
No items found.
The Negro at the College Door, 1964
Article
2022
Other Researchers
1960s
Other Researchers
1960s
Article
An article documenting the 1964 MIT Conference on Negro College Summer Institutes and its efforts to improve college preparation for Black students from underserved high schools.
Multiple
Wonder Women of Science: How 12 Geniuses Are Rocking Science, Technology, and the World (2021)
Book
2022
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Book
A children's book by MIT alumna Tiera Fletcher '17 and co-authors profiling 12 women scientists and engineers rocking STEM, with Fletcher herself as one of the featured subjects.
Alum
Science must overcome its racist legacy: Nature’s guest editors speak, 2022
Article
2022
Other Researchers
2020s
Other Researchers
2020s
Article
An article from Nature featuring MIT-affiliated scholars calling on the scientific community to reckon with its racist history and actively work toward decolonizing research.
Multiple
Vital Difference: The Role of Race in Building Community (2004)
Report
2022
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Report
A report by MIT's Center for Reflective Community Practice arguing that race, far from being divisive, can play a central role in building democratic participation in underserved communities.
Faculty
Slavery and the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital, 2005
Article
2022
Other Researchers
2000s
Other Researchers
2000s
Article
An article by MIT economist Daron Acemoglu measuring how much economic harm was transmitted across generations from slavery, quantifying the long-run costs of historical oppression.
No items found.
Studying While Black: Trust, Opportunity, and Disrespect, 2014
Article
2022
Other Researchers
2010s
Other Researchers
2010s
Article
An article examining how race shapes trust and opportunity in educational settings, and what institutions can do to close achievement gaps and reduce disrespect toward Black students.
Faculty
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