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
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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