Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Living... in Virginia in the early 1960’s.
Profession... mathematician at NASA’s Langley Research Center. She works With a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physical science, Mary wants to eventually become an engineer for NASA—a position that no black woman has ever held. One roadblock she’s facing is that she needs a formal certification as an engineer, but she can’t go to school to get certified because it is for whites only. Frustrated, Mary complains, “Every time we have a chance to get ahead, they move the finish line.”
Interests... spending time with her two best friends at NASA, Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughn. In their time off, they like to cut loose and dance.
Relationship status... married with a son and daughter. Mary’s husband, Levi, is a civil-rights activist. He tells her that the deck is stacked against her, and she doesn’t have a chance of becoming an engineer. He’d prefer that she stays home so she can properly take care of their children.
Challenge... confronting discrimination in all aspects of her life. On top of the challenges she faces at work, she and her black girlfriends can’t even go for a drive. After their car broke down, they were accosted by a police officer with a club in his hand. Mary stands up for their rights, saying “no crime being Negro.”
Personality... intelligent, bold, and honest. Mary carries herself with confidence and poise. With her friends, she is always first to say what is on her mind even if that might get her in trouble. She is full of wit, helping to bring laughter to her friends who face so much stress. With a strong work ethic, NASA is lucky to have her as an employee.
Get to Know her in...
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The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history. They are behind the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.
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The #1 New York Times bestseller The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner. Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South’s segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America’s aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam’s call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all-black “West Computing” group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens. Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.
