Hidden figures Q&A

Margot Shetterly cites several important factors that caused the American government to push for racial desegregation even as state and county governments pushed back on the matter. In the initial sections of the book, it is evident that the only reason why NACA opens its doors to black females is out of necessity and not out of a desire for establishing equanimity. Later onwards, the Cold War and the Space Race with USSR forces the government to concede that they needed to create a better environment for people of all classes to nurture true scientific progress.

The West Computing pool encounters this sign in their cafeteria, a place that is supposed to be shared by the staff of the Langley laboratory. The sign is a reminder for the group that the people in management believe themselves to be somehow superior to the women that they have hired to aid them with their work. Miriam Mann, a computer from the West Computing pool, wages a personal battle against the sign as she takes the sign away from the table every time management puts up a new one, but eventually, the people at NACA understand and they stop using the sign.

Christine’s acceptance into Langley and her career can be seen as an important part of the legacy that black women from West Computing leave behind. In the prologue of the book, Margot talks about how women like Dorothy had paved the way for young black children like her who had grown used to the idea of seeing black engineers and mathematicians from a young age. Christine’s section of the book allows the reader to see how much has truly changed at Langley since Dorothy joined the same lab in 1943.

There are no black astronauts at the end of the book, and Lieutenant Uhura is a fictional character in the famous television series called Star Trek. The series aired during the time of the Civil Rights movement, and Shetterly explains that seeing a black person in space was an extremely inspiring fact for black people everywhere. Nichelle Nichols had wanted to quit the show after finishing the first season but she was urged to continue with the show by Martin Luther King Jr, who saw her presence as an important source of inspiration for the next generation of black children.