hidden figures
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Watch: You Will Get Your Whole Life With This Hidden Figures Red Carpet
Hidden Figures is the story of the impact black women had on NASA’s space explorations, and it hits theaters nationwide Friday. The film focuses on three black women who worked in the math department at NASA in the 1950s: Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson. And even though this movie is based on a true…
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Jeanette Epps to Be 1st African-American International Space Station Crew Member
The timing is impeccable. Just as the highly anticipated movie Hidden Figures—the story of three African-American women who were crucial in the launch of the first American into orbit—hits theaters, more news of black female achievement in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields has hit the presses. NASA announced Wednesday that for the first…
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How Can We Raise Future Black Female Mathematicians? Start by Asking Them
Editor’s note: Once a month, this column will tackle broader questions about what the country should do to increase educational opportunities for black youths. Studying the successes of black female mathematicians opens a window into how we can produce more black STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) grads. It also exposes the bigotry that prevents us…
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You Were Probably Going To See Hidden Figures Anyway, But Go See Hidden Figures.
I feel like I’m in a pretty enviable position in life. Since I was 18-years-old, I’ve been surrounded by Black people who are actively involved in STEM fields. I have several friends with STEM PhDs, including one who writes for VSB on occasion. Two of my closest friends in life are PhDs in biomedical engineering/biology…
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Hidden Figures Upholds the Legacy of 3 Extraordinary Black Women Who Changed the World
Hidden Figures is the riveting and inspirational story of three black female mathematicians who excelled against all odds at NASA. Many of us are just now learning their names: Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughn. So much of our history has been omitted from the curricula of many schools. That’s a huge chunk of…
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First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts Hidden Figures Screening at White House
It was #BlackGirlMagic Thursday at the White House, where first lady Michelle Obama hosted a private movie screening for the upcoming film Hidden Figures, scheduled to come out on Christmas Day. The event included a screening of the movie, followed by a panel featuring the creators and cast members and remarks by Obama herself. Janelle Monáe, Taraji P. Henson…
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Black Female Chemistry Professor Awarded $324,000 to Study Rape-Investigation Methods
With the upcoming Christmas Day release of the brilliant Oscar-worthy film Hidden Figures, it looks like black female scientists who rock out in science, technology, engineering and math fields are getting their day in the sun. And so it is with Candice Bridge, the University of Central Florida’s first black female chemistry instructor, who just…
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Unique Views, Episode 21: Why Are Black Women ‘Hidden Figures’?
I don’t hate my co-star and daughter in this podcast game, Ms. Patti Patti LaDanielle, aka Danielle Young, The Root’s social-content producer, but because of Donald Trump’s Russian-tainted presidential-election win, our relationship is strained. It’s fitting that this episode starts with us arguing, but that isn’t important. What is important is that I won. Because…
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7 Black Movies to See if You Can’t Bear to See Birth of a Nation (or Even if You Do)
Ever since Nate Parker’s film The Birth of a Nation earned a record $17.5 million distribution deal and walked away with the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, the movie has been positioned as the film most likely to solve Hollywood’s #OscarsSoWhite problem. But Parker’s past…
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Hidden Figures: Meet the Black Female Math Geniuses Who Helped Win the Space Race
Even before the publication of Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, the rights to the film version of the book—starring Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson and Janelle Monáe—had been sold. This comes as no surprise: The story of…