{"id":76,"date":"2017-02-16T18:22:04","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T23:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/inclusionexclusion\/?p=76"},"modified":"2017-02-20T17:42:31","modified_gmt":"2017-02-20T22:42:31","slug":"hidden-figures-how-and-why-we-brought-it-to-the-2017-jmm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/inclusionexclusion\/2017\/02\/16\/hidden-figures-how-and-why-we-brought-it-to-the-2017-jmm\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden Figures: How and Why We Brought it to the 2017 JMM"},"content":{"rendered":"
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from Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n

By now, you\u2019re heard of Hidden Figures<\/a>,<\/em> a 20th Century Fox biographical drama which follows three\u00a0African-American women\u00a0who worked for NASA<\/a> in the early 1960’s.\u00a0The movie is based on a book written by Margot Lee Shetterly<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>With a complete title of Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race<\/a>,<\/i> this incredibly-well researched book spans nearly half a century to chronicle the lives of African-Americans in Hampton, Virginia<\/a> as the United States entered the Space Race<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the main question I pose today is not “how did they overcome obvious adversity and discrimination to succeed?” but rather “why haven’t I heard about this until now?”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At the Movies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Over the 2016 Winter Break, I was able to take my three African-American nieces to see Hidden Figures<\/em> for an early screening at my favorite theater, the ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood<\/a>. I had not read the book, and I was somewhat skeptical whether it would be a good film. (Cookie<\/a> as a rocket scientist?\u00a0 Really??)\u00a0 But I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was better than it should have been. \u00a0In fact, the movie is getting rave reviews<\/a>, and has been nominated for at least 69 awards to date<\/a>. \u00a0 Just this past weekend<\/a>, it won four NAACP Image Awards<\/a>, and it has a very good chance of winning an Academy Award<\/a>\u00a0later this month.<\/p>\n

People talk a lot these days about intersectionality<\/a>, the concept of intersecting social identities. Well Hidden Figures<\/em> is the epitome of this. Mathematics?\u00a0 Yes. Gender?\u00a0 Definitely. Race?\u00a0 Got it. And humor and romance?\u00a0 Absolutely. \u00a0It is for these reasons that the movie has an appeal to a wide audience, and is providing a safe-space<\/a> for those who wish to have a conversation about the difficulties of diverse communities attempting to coexist. Yes, this paragraph was written for you, Mitch Daniels<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Dorothy Vaughan (1910 – 2008)<\/p><\/div>\n

While the movie focuses on three main protagonists for dramatic effect (Mary Jackson<\/a>, Katherine Johnson<\/a>, and Dorothy Vaughan<\/a>) and one to appease white guilt (here’s looking at you, Kevin Costner<\/a>!) the storyline focuses on the power of love to overcome people’s fears and prejudices. \u00a0Come to think of it, I could\u00a0say the same thing about 2014’s Black or White<\/a><\/em>\u00a0since it also featured Kevin Costner<\/a> and Octavia Spencer<\/a>…<\/p>\n

In\u00a0the 1940’s and 1950’s the precursor to NASA<\/a> needed human computers to assist with calculations for the burgeoning space program. Men were off to fight the Second World War<\/a>, so the United States Government needed women to help on this front. Even recent graduates from local historically black colleges and universities<\/a> were considered for the position. Yes, there were many “colored women<\/a>” who worked essentially as rocket scientists. And these women helped to do the computations which put the first men in space, and returned them safely home.<\/p>\n

My Shero: Dorothy Vaughan<\/h2>\n

Watching the movie piqued my curiosity, so I decided to read the book. \u00a0Shetterly has written an impressive history of the African-American women who worked as human computers in the West Area Computing Unit<\/a>. \u00a0Whereas the movie focuses on the life of Katherine Johnson<\/a> (played in the movie\u00a0Taraji P. Henson<\/a>), the book focuses on the seriously kick-ass Dorothy Vaughan<\/a>\u00a0(played in the movie by Octavia Spencer<\/a>) and the very underrated Christine Darden<\/a>\u00a0(who was not featured in the movie at all).<\/p>\n

And I’m not just hyped about Vaughan because she’s an Alpha Kappa Alpha<\/a> like my mom: Vaughan graduated with a B.A. in Mathematics at age 19, married at 22, and started life as a high school math teacher soon thereafter. \u00a0Life under Jim Crow<\/a> convinced Vaughan\u00a0to create\u00a0a better life for her kids at all costs. \u00a0Aged 33, she moved 140 miles east – without her husband or four kids! – from Farmville, VA to Hampton, VA<\/a>\u00a0to take a chance and work for NASA. \u00a0Six years later, Vaughan was the supervisor of her group. \u00a0She had taught herself how to program on the digital computers, then empowered the others in her group by teaching them how to program too. \u00a0Remember that<\/em> when you see this image from the movie:<\/p>\n

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20th Century Fox Promotional Photo<\/p><\/div>\n

Joint Mathematics Meetings Panel Discussion<\/h2>\n

Why haven’t we heard about these women and these stories before? \u00a0And what can we do to make sure these stories get told now?<\/p>\n

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Ami Radunskaya, Ulrica Wilson, Lily Khadjavi, Christine Darden, Margot Lee Shetterly, Nagambal Shah, Tanya Moore, Sylva Bozeman, Kim Weems, and Edray Goins<\/p><\/div>\n

I was not the only one who wondered\u00a0this. \u00a0I had the amazing\u00a0opportunity to work with several women who decided we needed to tell these stories at the largest meeting of mathematicians in the world, the Joint Mathematics Meetings<\/a>. \u00a0Lead largely by Tanya Moore (one of the creators of the Infinite Possibilities Conference<\/a>), a group consisting of myself (as president of the National Association of Mathematicians<\/a>), Sylvia Bozeman<\/a>\u00a0(as one of the creators\u00a0of the EDGE Program<\/a>), Lily Khadjavi<\/a>\u00a0(one of the organizers\u00a0of\u00a0IPC<\/a>),\u00a0Ami Radunskaya<\/a> (as president-elect of the Association of Women in Mathematics<\/a>),\u00a0Nagambal Shah<\/a> (one of the creators of ASA’s StatFest<\/a>), Kim Weems (another\u00a0one of the organizers\u00a0of\u00a0IPC<\/a>)\u00a0and\u00a0Ulrica Wilson<\/a> (as one of the directors of EDGE<\/a>)\u00a0decided to host a panel discussion which would serve three purposes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Feature the author of Hidden Figures<\/a><\/em>, Margot Lee Shetterly<\/a>,<\/li>\n
  2. Feature the mathematics of the African-American women at NASA, and<\/li>\n
  3. Feature one of the unsung women in the book, Dr. Christine Darden<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    With the help of Helen Grundman<\/a> (AMS Director of Education and Diversity<\/a>), we held our special panel discussion entitled\u00a0The Mathematics and Mathematicians Behind Hidden Figures<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/span>on Wednesday January 4, 2017 at 6:30 PM. \u00a0We had planned for maybe 200 people, which meant we weren’t prepared for\u00a0the kind of reception we got:<\/p>\n

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    The audience at the “HIdden Figures” Panel Discussion<\/p><\/div>\n

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    More of the audience at the “Hidden Figures” Panel Discussion<\/p><\/div>\n

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    Even more of the audience at the “Hidden Figures” Panel Discussion<\/p><\/div>\n

    No, there wasn’t even standing room!<\/p>\n

    The panel discussion was an amazing success. \u00a0Margot Lee Shetterly told stories of how she grew up in Hampton, Virginia, knowing women such as Katherine Johnson, but not knowing at all about the role she played in helping make John Glenn the first man to orbit the Earth<\/a>. \u00a0Ulrica Wilson gave a mathematics lecture on how the some of the first African-American women engineers at NASA perfected the reduction of noise from sonic booms<\/a>.\u00a0 Christine Darden – one of the women featured in the book but not in the movie – spoke about her own experiences in NASA’s Sonic Boom Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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    Margot Lee Shetterly, Christine Darden, and Ulrica Wilson<\/p><\/div>\n

    Visibility and Double Vision<\/h2>\n

    At the end of the evening, a young woman from Spelman College asked the most challenging question of the evening:<\/p>\n

    “What should I do to make sure I don’t become a Hidden Figure<\/em>?”<\/p>\n

    Dr. Darden gave a wonderful answer, suggesting that the young woman follow her dreams, fight for what she thinks is important, and to not let anyone silence\u00a0her from making a name for herself. \u00a0In essence, make yourself visible<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    The answer was equally inspiring and heart-breaking. \u00a0Yes, empowering young girls is important and necessary, ever more so today. \u00a0But are black women really invisible<\/em>? \u00a0I spoke with a friend, an African-American professor of mathematics, who reminded me that,\u00a0sadly,\u00a0black women are. \u00a0They are everywhere, but often ignored. \u00a0This is obvious when you consider the often trivialized debates over whether Serena Williams is the greatest female<\/del> athlete of all time<\/a>, discussions over whether\u00a0Beyonce deserved to win a Grammy for the Best Album of the Year<\/a>, or reminders that black women are the most educated group in the United States<\/a>.\u00a0 Indeed,\u00a0the face of progressivism in this country is Elizabeth Warren<\/a>, not Shirley Chisholm<\/a>. \u00a0(Shout outs\u00a0to those who remember the famous Biz Markie line<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

    Margot Lee Shetterly recently gave a talk at Purdue University<\/a>. \u00a0She discussed how we as Americans still have double vision when we see African-American women mathematicians: they are either black or scientists, but not both simultaneously. \u00a0Perhaps it’s time we \u00a0learn to correct our vision and focus on what’s been right in front of us all along.<\/p>\n

    Post Scriptum: Anna Haensch has written a nice companion blog entry<\/a> you may wish to read as well!<\/p>\n

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    By now, you\u2019re heard of Hidden Figures, a 20th Century Fox biographical drama which follows three\u00a0African-American women\u00a0who worked for NASA in the early 1960’s.\u00a0The movie is based on a book written by Margot Lee Shetterly.\u00a0 With a complete title of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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