Black Magic Women Push Up for US Space Race

For decades, the contributions of the Black female mathematicians who helped get NASA astronauts into space stayed essentially hidden.

Travelling into space has always been quite a challenging trip to prepare. Back then, during the 19th century, when computers were not that common or emerging and trusted, unlike nowadays, with the help of technology, everything turns out to be way easier than before. In the 1950s, mathematical operations were all made manually by Black American women, who have been rarely depicted or showcased to the public. They were called at that time “human computers,” doing all the work with the human brain. Besides the huge amount of time needed, any small mistake could lead to chaos in the operations.

Despite their deep engagement in making travel into space possible, the recognition toward these women was almost never spotlighted in American history, which mainly focuses on the contribution of the white community in shaping the country’s background.

But Johnson and the computer pool made calculations for groundbreaking, successful space missions, including Alan Shepard’s 1961 voyage which made him the first American in space—and John Glenn’s 1962 mission, which made him the first American to orbit Earth. The world wasn’t fully aware of this incredible story until 2016, when the best-selling book and popular movie “Hidden Figures” were released.

This movie successfully portrays the story of the African American women working at NASA: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who overcame rampant racial and gender discrimination to play crucial roles in the US space race, particularly in launching John Glenn into orbit in 1962. The movie received many awards and offered the world the hidden history behind space travel and the sacrifices of the Black women community.

Rasha.S