Hidden Figures: A Review

In early 2017, I was searching to see what movies were showing in the IMAX Theater at the Smithsonian in Washington DC and found a new movie “Hidden Figures” was being shown at the theater. Reading about the movie, I saw that part of the story being told was about John Glenn and his travel into space.

Well, John Glenn was a distant cousin of mine so that immediately grabbed my interest to see the movie so much such that my wife and I decided to go see the movie in Columbia, Maryland. We were extremely impressed with the movie and discovered that there was a lot more to the story then just John Glenn.

For example, after doing some research soon after watching the movie, I discovered that the movie was inspired by a recent #1 New York Times Bestseller by the same title, Hidden Figures.  The book’s author is Margot Lee Shetterly. I have just finished reading this inspiring book.  The book is about a group of 4 female mathematicians who were known as “human computers.”  Calculations by these women were instrumental in advancing some of America’s greatest achievements in space.

What’s even more unique and refreshing about this story is the fact these women were African American deeply involved in a field where women in general and African American men or women did not have a presence or were not allowed to be involved, to say the least.

The author specifically follows the interwoven account of these 4 African American women—Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes.

The book chronicles the careers of these African American women over nearly three decades as they faced challenges, forged alliances, and used their intellect to change both their own lives and their country’s future.  These women were some of the “human computers” who using pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts into space.

When it was time for astronaut John Glenn to fly into space, NASA had capable computers churning the numbers using IBM computers but, John Glenn still had more trust in Katherine Johnson’s calculations than what the computers showed. Glenn said, “Get the girl to check the numbers and if she says the numbers are good, I’m ready to go.”

This not only showed the confidence Glenn had with the African American woman mathematician, the confidence paved the way for not just these 4 African American women to excel in math and science but they in turn paved the way for other women to enter and excel in the field as well regardless of race.

I would like to encourage you to read this book as well as the see the movie Hidden Figures. You will be inspired.  (The movie has just been released this month on DVD).