The Black Graduate Student Association at MIT was founded in 1976 with the support of assistant Dean, John B. Turner.

Task Force Meeting, 1971. Student activist W. Ahmad Salih (right) with Benjamin F. Moultrie MBA ’76 (left), Courtesy MIT Museum.

OUR

GOALS

LEARN

We are an organization that recognizes graduation with a Masters or Ph.D. as our #1 priority.

EMPOWER

We want to empower our members so that they can properly transfer the usage of the tools acquired at MIT to successfully advance our community.

ENCOURAGE

We wish to provide a place of refuge. A place where African, African American, and Afro-Caribbean graduate students are encouraged to express ideas, concepts, and frustrations without rebuke.

ENTERTAIN

We try to provide opportunities for our membership to relax, relate, and release through healthy entertainment.

THE 2015 BGSA Recommendations

In the wake of the national movement that gained momentum in November of 2015, the Black Graduate Student Association prepared a list of recommendations to address racial bias at the Institute. This list still guides what we continue to stand for and work toward at MIT. Read the recommendations.

Since 1976 we have worked to promote the cohesiveness and success of African, African-American and Afro-Caribbean graduate students at MIT.

Shirley Jackson at MIT the year she earned her PhD in physics, 1973. COURTESY of mit museum.

OUR

FAMILY

The Black graduate student association is connected to several student communities. We are proud to have graduate, undergraduate and cross-campus links.