MIT Black History Project

The MIT Black History Project began in 1995 with the goal of documenting the role of Black life at MIT since the Institute’s founding in 1861. These multiple roles have evolved over time and even exceeded those realized at many historically prestigious predominantly white institutions of higher learning. The Project’s continuing objective is to research and disseminate a varied set of materials that shed light on this rich, significant legacy.

The mission of the MIT Black History Project is to research, identify, and produce scholarly curatorial content on the Black experience at MIT since the Institute opened its doors in 1865. The MIT Black History Project is an ongoing collaborative research effort sponsored by the MIT Office of the Provost working to archive 150+ years of the black experience at MIT.

The MIT Black History Project’s mission is to research, identify, and produce scholarly curatorial content. It is important to venture back in time, to search for evidence of the role and experience of blacks since the Institute opened its doors in 1865 for academic achievement and research. The project’s continuing objective is to place the black experience at MIT in its full and appropriate context by researching and disseminating a varied set of materials and by exposing a larger community of interests — both inside and outside MIT — to this rich, historically significant legacy.

Sponsored by the MIT Office of the Provost, the MIT Black History Project aims to bring an additional humanistic interface to one of the world's premier science, engineering, and research-driven educational institutions.