Hidden Figures

TITLE: HIDDEN FIGURES

AUTHOR: MARGOT LEE SHETTERLY

PUBLICATION YEAR: 2016

     This story is entitled Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and published year 2016. This book chronicles the experiences of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, four African-American women who pioneered the fields of mathematics and engineering at NASA.

     During World War II, NASA, then known as NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), started hiring women as female computers. These women effectively performed mathematical tasks but were classified as sub professionals in order to receive lower pay. Because the demand could not be met solely by white employees, there was a movement in 1943 to hire qualified black women.

     The book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly is a remarkable account of a small group of African-American women who made significant contributions to the Space Race and the fields of math, science, and engineering. These women were intelligent, ambitious, hardworking, and admirable. Their story is all the more Remarkable given that segregation and racial intolerance were still pervasive at the time in many areas of the United States. What a day that must have been for the women in that room in 1969 when the first man’s journey to the moon signaled the fruition of their hard work and determination!

“Their dark skin, their gender, their economic status–none of those were acceptable excuses for not giving the fullest rein to their imaginations and ambitions.”

     This book’s emphasis on telling each woman’s unique story made me very happy. The selflessness, tenacity, and wisdom of these women greatly motivated me. The history of the book is integrated with the stories, which move from WWII and aviation research through the Cold War and the Space Race. The Civil Rights Movement and the effort to abolish school segregation receive a lot of attention in the book. Beginning with the 1960s, when integration finally takes place, the black mathematicians are compelled to labor on the west side of the Langley site.

SUMMARY:

Women Joining the Team

     Hidden Figures takes place at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, the country’s first civilian aeronautical research facility. Founded as a division of the NACA in Hampton, Virginia, the laboratory’s expanding role in national defense provided women in general with the opportunity to play an integral role in the rapidly expanding field of aeronautics research. They started out as “human computers,” or skilled mathematicians who analyzed test data. This was a critical step in the research, development, and refinement of new technologies that required patience and precision. As more advanced technologies in the fields of aerospace and mechanical computers emerged, the women kept up, learning to program new electronic computers and transitioning out of the computer pool into engineering.

     The women's lives and accomplishments are played out against the changing political and societal backdrops of World War II, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, and America’s race to the Moon over a 25-year period. Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematician and teacher, is the first of the four featured women to be hired at Langley. She goes to work in West Area Computing, like all black computers. Dorothy Vaughan’s dedication, perseverance, and aptitude for numbers secure her a position at the laboratory after the war. She becomes NASA’s first African American supervisor at the pinnacle of her career.

Breaking Ground

     Vaughan and her peers pave the way for a new generation of female professionals such as Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson. In 1951, Mary Jackson, a gifted mathematician, joins the NACA West Area Computing group. She rises to become NASA’s first black female aerospace engineer in an era when female engineers are scarce. Katherine Johnson joins the West Area Computing group in 1953, and her exceptional numerical ability is quickly recognized. When the space race heats up, she is assigned to NASA’s Space Task Group, where she makes invaluable contributions to the success of Project Apollo. Katherine Johnson is NASA’s most well-known human computer.

A Lasting Legacy

     Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson have made significant contributions to aeronautics and aerospace technology over the years. Their accomplishments serve as both a catalyst and a memorial to the political and social changes that have dismantled two barriers to success: race and gender. They contribute to the reshaping of the professional world into which Christine Darden (b. 1942) enters in 1967 as a member of Langley’s human-computer pool. Darden is promoted to NASA’s top aerospace engineer.

CRITICAL APPROACHES:

1. FORMALISTIC APPROACH 

- Analysis on the formal feature of the subject not on the profile of the author.

     The story happened in Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton Virginia, 1940. The characters were working at NASA but experienced racial discrimination. Dorothy Vaughan- a manager and de-facto supervisor of a group “computers” including 30 black women and were all mathematicians. Katherine Johnson was one of those who is brilliant and Mathematical genius. Her calculations put the first American Astronaut, Alan Shepard into outer space. Another character was Mary Jackson who has engineering skill. These three brave black women portrayed round characters since they were all improved and changed at the end of the story- from being followers then soon holding the title or having high position in NASA. The conflict that these characters had was external because of racial discrimination that they experience in both personal lives and in their work, the Racism and sexism.

     The story started when the characters Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson participated on the program to send American astronauts into space because of their mathematical and engineering skills. However because of the racist time they were forced to work in West Area Computers Division segregated from white American people. Despite their hard work and dedication and producing quality output they were not notified instead they were rejected because of their color. They were not allowed to hold supervisory roles. And most of the time they were insulted and receive dismissive responses from their colleagues.

Their lives changed when the Space task group needed help to perform Russian mathematicians and Katherine was assigned to the job. She made crucial calculations that ensured the success of outer space travel.

     In this story, the readers will be inspired because of the theme courage and perseverance shown by the characters despite of the struggles they faced due to racism and sexism. The story was told from the point of view of the characters namely: Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson since this is based on a real- lives story. The “colored” signs that the black women encounter in the cafeteria, doors of restrooms and other locations symbolize high racial discrimination of white American to black American.

2. HISTORICAL APPROACH

     “Hidden figures” is a book written by Margot Lee Shetterly, a black American nonfiction writer. The story is based on the real lives of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. These three characters worked at NASA Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia. Though the story is biographical in nature but it also shows/connects to the author’s life. Shetterly’s father worked as Research Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center when she was a kid. The author grew up with the group of many African-American families who also worked at NASA. The way the author described the setting, characters and other concepts of the story showed familiarity of the author in the story that she is writing since her early life went around in NASA.

3. GENDER AND FEMINIST APPROACH

            The story “Hidden figures” showed stereotype characterization of men and women. It appeared in showing the roles and responsibility of men and women in the story. One of the lines of Mary Jackson “ We go from being our father’s daughter, to our husband’s wives, to our babies mothers. It showed that women’s roles were for inside the house, taking household chores and preparing everything for the family. Women were not allowed to work in offices. Another line from Katherine Johnson “ There’s no protocol for men circling the earth either, sir.” This line also showed that there was inequality between men and women and Katherine Johnson specifically raising the rights of the women to be included in the field of work. The character also wanted to give equal opportunities for both men and women to be notified and awarded because women could also be a brilliant engineer or scientist in NASA. Lastly, the author also showed women empowerment as Shetterly showed this in the end of the story where the characters were granted higher positions in NASA.

     Every detail and event in the story were narrated and written by the author in an objective, factual, and knowledgeable manner, since her father is also a NASA scientist. The story is nonfiction and based on real-life events.

Sources: 

https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Hidden-Figures/plot-summary/

https://www.bookishelf.com/book-review-hidden-figures-by-margot-lee-shetterly/