Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures is a film based on a remarkable true story about three colored women in the 1960s. The movie follows the lives of Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and Kathrine Johnson. These women used their intellect at NASA to contribute to the launch of the first American into space. Hidden Figures also represents the contribution of these women to society. They helped put a man in space, yet they didn’t receive the proper appreciation during their time. Hidden Figures helps give those women gratitude for all that they did for NASA and the United States. Even though this film acknowledges their achievements, it recognizes the hardships the women faced while working for NASA as well as the hardships of all other African American women in the workplace. A few of the hardships they faced were sexism, discrimination, and ageism.

Mary worked with the West Computers for 2 years and then she went to work with Kazimierz Kanreki. He was an engineer working on high speed wind tunnels. While she worked with him he offered her the idea to go back to school to study to become an engineer. For Mary to take classes she had to get permission. She had to obtain permission because Virginia school had not desegregated at the time. Mary got to take her classes and she became an engineer. She got to become NASA’s first African American women to have a degree in engineering in 1958.

Instead of listening to the Secret Service she asked one of the head Pilots to fly her. She was optimistic when they landed. She asked why are they not flying into war, they're really good. Later she donated $175,000 to build a new Runway. One of her most important contributions to the Tuskegee airmen and civil rights was to talk to FDR the president and ask for them to join the war effort. she said all people should be equal and they should all have the opportunity to fight for their

She has risen from a poor background and was ranked the richest African American of the 20th Century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history and was once the world’s only black billionaire. She is also known as the most influential woman in the world, both older generations and young.

Mary Jackson was born April 9, 1921, Hampton, Virginia, U.S.A. She was a math genius and an aerospace engineer. most importantly she was the first African American female engineer to work and be the first flight engineers for NASA.

Adapted from the book by Margot Lee Shetterly and directed by Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures is a film based on the true stories of three black women (Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, & Katherine Johnson) working for NASA in 1960’s. Dorothy Vaughan, played by Octavia Spencer in the film, was a programmer and Mary Jackson, played by Janelle Monae in the film, was an engineer. Dorothy passed away in 2008 and Mary in 2005. Katherine Johnson, a mathematician played by Taraji P. Henson, is now 98 years old and still resides with her husband Corporal Jim Johnson in Hampton, Virginia where the film is set. These women collectively played a pivotal role in sending the first American into space and eventually to the moon. A critical analysis of the film reveals the history and dynamics of racial domination institutionally and interpersonally as well as prejudices and challenges faced by women in particular.

An example of that would be during a laboratory open house, where a photo of her and the rest of her co-workers was blown up and put on display, with the exception of her face which was purposely cut out of the picture. She was very embarrassed about it but she didn't let it affect her. In an interview with NASA she said “When people have their biases and prejudices, yes, I am aware. My head is not in the sand. But my thing is, if I can't work with you, I will work around you. I was not about to be discouraged that I'd walk away. That may be a solution for some people, but it's not mine”. Another obstacle she faced was her inability to get a good education as others because of her skin colour. Back at her time, there was a lot of discrimination.which resulted in a separation of schools for black and white people. The schools with black kids typically had a worse education. She was also unable to continue her study as a pharmacist because she got married and had to move. Though all of that happened to her It didn't stop her from becoming a great computer programmer, mathematician, and a rocket scientist for NASA who helped make modern spaceflight possible with her calculations. Everything she has done and all the obstacles she has faced are reasons that make her a very notable

Dorothy Dandridge may seem to be like a beautiful and strong African American woman on the outside, but on the inside she held in a lot of pain. Dorothy Dandridge is an actress, singer, and entertainer, who no longer walk this green Earth, but when she did, she made history. Dorothy was the first African American actress to achieve a leading-role status. Dorothy also had a deeply troubled life and racism didn’t make her life any easier especially when it came to achieving her dreams, but she got through it and during her time, the early 1930’s through the 1960’s, that was saying something. Racism was a lot worse then what it is now, but it made it harder for African Americans to achieve their goals, especially African American women. Dorothy was very worth looking up to now and when she was alive. Dorothy Dandridge is a contribution to African American history because she was the first African American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress, how she fought all odds against her, mainly racism, and she made it possible to for other African American women to follow in her footsteps and look up to her as a role model.

paved the way for religious freedom. She was a great leader in the cause for

She showed them that they could be equal. The only difference was the color of the skin. She taught them that that wasn’t even a big difference. She fought segregation her entire life.

Who is Annie Easley? Maybe she was one of the four African Americans to work for NASA out of 2,500 employees. Or maybe she was a human computer, a mathematician, or a math technician? Who was Annie Easley?

With recruiting black women into the legal profession, she had a big say in the federal government. In 1995, she was part of the delegation with the lawyers committee for civil rights. Along with being general counsel, she also worked for the Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). She had a substantial impact in the federal agency, spending 10 years there. In total, she has a total of over 40 years in the legal profession.

Hidden Figures, a book written by Margot Lee Shetterly, reveals an untold story of black women who helped form and define U.S. space investigation by working at NACA and NASA. That being said, how is their story so important to our cultural, social, and scientific history? As stated on the back cover of the book, these women, known to be human computers, were the ones who helped develop some of the greatest space achievements in American history. Taking place in Virginia during the time of segregation and discrimination against women, life was very stressful and demanding for women, especially to women of color. As a woman, finding a good paying job to support the family was very hard.

Both Kathryn Stockett the author of The Help and Theodore Melfi the director of the film Hidden Figures present perspectives and ideas surrounding women’s and civil rights with the prominent ideas being gender and race. These ideas are based around the creator’s personal views on the topic as well as historical events. Stockett and Melfi present race and gender through the main protagonists of their stories, using film and narrative techniques such as characterisation, narrative style, setting, flashbacks and point of view. Which help to portray a perspective of African American ‘black’ women during the 1960s in both The Help and Hidden Figures. The Help, Kathryn Stockett's debut 2009 novel, tells the story of ‘black’ African American maids working in white Southern homes in Mississippi

Amelia Earhart was a courageous woman who set high standards for woman aviators to follow. In other words, she made outstanding achievements. She was even able to break the records of her fellow male colleagues, which is a pretty big achievement. She also