Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Shetterly, is the story of the contributions made to space flight by the black women who worked at the Langley Research Center in the early days of aeronautical research. It reveals little-known history about the crucial work performed by black women amidst segregation and discrimination that led to America putting a man into space. the Langley Research Center was growing rapidly due to demands for increased air power in an effort to defeat the Axis powers during World War II. Because men were involved in the military effort and white women were already working the jobs vacated by men, Melvin Butler turned to hiring black women to do the computing jobs at Langley, Dorothy Vaughan, a highly intelligent black high
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She worked toward several humanitarian efforts, including advocating for one council to govern both black and white Girl Scouts. She also partnered with a white colleague to speak to black students at a conference. Nasa tested the Mercury capsule while Christine Mann, a student at the time, who was in college. Dorothy Vaughan was working alongside many of the women from East Computing as a computer programmer. Katherine was at a conference for her sorority during the Apollo 11 launch. Many people objected to the space program as money spent frivolously while the poor struggled to feed their families and there was a shortage of black housing. Even black Americans who supported the space program were upset that the program did not have any black people in key positions.
In the Epilogue, Shetterly concludes the stories of the black women she has written about.
Katherine continued working at Langley and had a hand in the Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 missions. Mary Jackson eventually took a job in Human Resources where she championed the advancement of women’s careers. Christine Darden started work at NASA as a data analyst and worked her way up through the ranks. Dorothy Vaughan never achieved her final goal, but recognized that the work she did at Langley made it possible for future generations of women to work in science and
She worked toward several humanitarian efforts, including advocating for one council to govern both black and white Girl Scouts. She also partnered with a white colleague to speak to black students at a conference. Nasa tested the Mercury capsule while Christine Mann, a student at the time, who was in college. Dorothy Vaughan was working alongside many of the women from East Computing as a computer programmer. Katherine was at a conference for her sorority during the Apollo 11 launch. Many people objected to the space program as money spent frivolously while the poor struggled to feed their families and there was a shortage of black housing. Even black Americans who supported the space program were upset that the program did not have any black people in key positions.
In the Epilogue, Shetterly concludes the stories of the black women she has written about.
Katherine continued working at Langley and had a hand in the Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 missions. Mary Jackson eventually took a job in Human Resources where she championed the advancement of women’s careers. Christine Darden started work at NASA as a data analyst and worked her way up through the ranks. Dorothy Vaughan never achieved her final goal, but recognized that the work she did at Langley made it possible for future generations of women to work in science and