![]() Despite these obstacles, Vaughan became the first Black supervisor of the NACA, NASA’s predecessor. But in 2015, she received the highest civilian honor: the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama.ĭorothy Vaughan Became NASA’s First African-American ManagerĪt the height of Jim Crow, “colored” mathematicians were forced to work separately from their White coworkers. In her lifetime, Johnson has received many awards, including multiple NASA Achievement Awards and Honorary degrees from SUNY Farmingdale. Katherine Johnson Was Awarded The Presidential Medal Of Freedom ![]() Katherine Johnson is still an active member of the West Virginia Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She spent decades as a Girl Scout troop leader and is famed for helping youth at a Hampton, Virginia community center build their own wind tunnel.ĭorothy Vaughan joined the Zeta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha at Wilberforce University and Mary Jackson, who graduated from Hampton Institute, was also a member of the historic sorority. While juggling her engineering career, Jackson (below) stayed heavily involved in the community. Mary Jackson Was A Girl Scout Leader For Over 20 Years Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news. Vaughan was among the first group of African-Americans to be hired as mathematicians and scientists, though Jim Crow laws still forced “colored” employees to work separate from their White counterparts. She completed eighth grade by age 10, graduated from West Virginia State High School by 14, and at 18, she earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and French while graduating summa cum laude.Įxecutive Orders Launched Dorothy Vaughan’s CareerĪt the height of World War II, President Roosevelt signed executive orders prohibiting racial discrimination in the National Defense Industry. Ninety eight years young today, Johnson (below) showed exceptional brilliance at a young age. Katherine Johnson Graduated From High School At Age 14 In keeping the legacy of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson alive, we rounded up some things that you need to know about the trailblazers and the work that quite literally catapulted humans into space. Hidden Figures only scratched the surface of these three women’s great achievements. Hidden Figures leaves behind a bittersweet taste: a combination of pride for the achievements of these brilliant trailblazers and irritation that this chapter of history is left out of our textbooks. If you’ve seen the film, then you’ve already felt the impact of knowing Black women were directly responsible for putting the first American astronauts into space. Three Oscar nominations, one SAG Award for best cast in a motion picture, two weeks on top of the box office, and over $80 million in gross ticket sales are just a few of the numbers that tell the story of Hidden Figures’ remarkable success.
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