John Glenn and Neil Armstrong are America’s
well-known and celebrated heroes who traveled into outer space. But it was the
work of unknown black women mathematicians
and engineers that helped them get there.
The film HiddenFigures, which opens in theaters nationwide today, features the stories of
the black women who worked at NASA under Jim Crow conditions and helped the
United States accomplish some of its greatest successes during the Space Race. While they had no idea how to provide accounting homework help, the outer space was their true passion.
The film is
based on the book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly who was committed to telling the story
of the large group of black women who worked at NASA that she heard about
growing up in Virginia that most of the country didn’t know about.
“It’s time that they get their moment in the
sun. We’ve seen John Glenn…But when we see him we didn't get to see Katherine
Johnson and Mary Jackson but now we do,” Shetterly said at a screening of the
film in New York City. “The thing that I am so excited about is they are here.
We are all here celebrating them. And these women are never ever going back
into the historical shadows, not ever."
The story of the black women mathematicians and
engineers at NASA is one of many of examples of black women’s contributions that
is virtually absent from history. The Hidden
Figures book is crucial because it is an important starting point for
telling black women’s influence on a celebrated era in American history where
they were overshadowed. Moreover, the book gave birth to the film which is amplifying black
women’s brilliance through popular culture.
The film focuses on three women Katherine
Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson
(Janelle Monae). Spencer was recently nominated for a Golden Globe award for
best supporting actress in the film. Monae found her reward in portraying a
pioneer.
"I got to portray a fighter, someone who
wasn't going to let discrimination stand in the way of her dreams,” Monae said
at a New York City film screening. “She knew she had something else to offer
and she changed the what it meant to be an engineer at NASA and became the
first African-American woman" (engineer there). "She showed that even if you don't have the credentials, you can still teach yourself, write my code and make history."
For Shetterly writing about the black women of
NASA was about centering their stories and lives to give them their proper
place in history, where to buy an essay online.
“For me writing the book, it was always about
the perspective of these characters…and their experiences with segregation and
the schools,” Shetterly said. “I wrote the story that I wanted to read. I
wanted to see these women as my protagonist and superheroes and ordinary
extraordinary people.”
The film Hidden
Figures is important because it offers audiences an uncommon Hollywood portrayal
of black women– complex and developed characters, Shetterly said.
“One thing that has been very rare is to see a
black woman in a protagonist situation, as three-dimensional people,” she said.
“We’re talking about mathematicians, mothers, wives, complicated people, not perfect. I’m delighted
with that. All of these women were that in real life.”
The women’s stories portrayed in Hidden Figures can also serve as an
example for young black women to pursue their dreams in fields related to
science, said Monae who mentioned that her music and style are influenced by
her appreciation for innovation, technology and heroes such as black woman
astronaut Mae Jemison.
“I just think it’s so important for young
girls when they see this movie so that they fall in love especially if they had
a passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math),” Monae said. “Now
people will have new superheroes. Now people will have context because what
these women have achieved is the coolest thing that I have read about and been
apart of in a very long time.”