Ewan
17th January 2018, 10:51
During the Space Race in the 1960's NASA employed a considerable number of African American women in the role of 'computers'.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a24429/hidden-figures-real-story-nasa-women-computers/
In 2016 a book (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Figures_(book)) was released about that story by Margot Lee Shetterly whose father had actually worked at NASA, as a research scientist, with many of the book’s main characters.
A film (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Figures) followed, which for the sake of brevity chose to focus on just three main characters.
I watched that film last night and thoroughly recommend it. This was a time when women in general barely had equal opportunity so to be a black woman was more than just a double whammy.
The internal strength of all people who have suffered such discrimination is something that should be dwelt upon and considered. The film depicts this very well as a lone black woman enters a room full of white males who are almost certainly racist, (as, generally, was the culture of the time), but likely a little misogynistic also.
More discussion on the mentality behind racism can be found here (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100738-Racism&highlight=racism).
At one point this genius mathmetician, who just happens to be in a female body with a black skin, asks the only other woman (white) in that section where the bathroom is.
The answer that came was so stunning I literally wanted to punch her in the face. :blushing:
"I don't know where your bathroom is."
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Katherine_Johnson_in_2008.jpg/640px-Katherine_Johnson_in_2008.jpg
Katherine Johnson in 2008
(In 1938, as a graduate student, she became one of three students—and the only woman—to desegregate West Virginia's state college.)
Here is a MAGNET (magnet:?xt=urn:btih:0aa7dafc560a5f53aeec1406ec7efbeea4313f7a&dn=Hidden.Figures.2016.720p.BluRay.H264.AAC-RARBG&tr=http%3A%2F%2Ftracker.trackerfix.com%3A80%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2F9.rarbg.me%3A2710&tr=udp%3A%2F%2F9.rarbg.to%3A2710) link for the film, if you don't know what that is don't bother clicking it.
Also:
The Women You've Never Heard of Who Transformed Astrophysics
http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/telescopes/a24174/women-harvard-astronomy-the-glass-universe/
In the late 19th century, the Harvard College Observatory employed a group of women who collected, studied, and cataloged thousands of images of stars on glass plates. As chronicled in Dava Sobel's book The Glass Universe, these women were every bit as capable as men despite toiling under less-than-favorable conditions. Williamina Fleming, for instance, classified over 10,000 stars using a scheme she created and was the first to recognize the existence of white dwarfs. While working six-day weeks at a job demanding "a large capacity for tedium," they were still expected to uphold societal norms of being a good wife and mother.
http://pop.h-cdn.co/assets/16/49/640x431/gallery-1481046355-photo6.jpg
http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a24429/hidden-figures-real-story-nasa-women-computers/
In 2016 a book (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Figures_(book)) was released about that story by Margot Lee Shetterly whose father had actually worked at NASA, as a research scientist, with many of the book’s main characters.
A film (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Figures) followed, which for the sake of brevity chose to focus on just three main characters.
I watched that film last night and thoroughly recommend it. This was a time when women in general barely had equal opportunity so to be a black woman was more than just a double whammy.
The internal strength of all people who have suffered such discrimination is something that should be dwelt upon and considered. The film depicts this very well as a lone black woman enters a room full of white males who are almost certainly racist, (as, generally, was the culture of the time), but likely a little misogynistic also.
More discussion on the mentality behind racism can be found here (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100738-Racism&highlight=racism).
At one point this genius mathmetician, who just happens to be in a female body with a black skin, asks the only other woman (white) in that section where the bathroom is.
The answer that came was so stunning I literally wanted to punch her in the face. :blushing:
"I don't know where your bathroom is."
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Katherine_Johnson_in_2008.jpg/640px-Katherine_Johnson_in_2008.jpg
Katherine Johnson in 2008
(In 1938, as a graduate student, she became one of three students—and the only woman—to desegregate West Virginia's state college.)
Here is a MAGNET (magnet:?xt=urn:btih:0aa7dafc560a5f53aeec1406ec7efbeea4313f7a&dn=Hidden.Figures.2016.720p.BluRay.H264.AAC-RARBG&tr=http%3A%2F%2Ftracker.trackerfix.com%3A80%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2F9.rarbg.me%3A2710&tr=udp%3A%2F%2F9.rarbg.to%3A2710) link for the film, if you don't know what that is don't bother clicking it.
Also:
The Women You've Never Heard of Who Transformed Astrophysics
http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/telescopes/a24174/women-harvard-astronomy-the-glass-universe/
In the late 19th century, the Harvard College Observatory employed a group of women who collected, studied, and cataloged thousands of images of stars on glass plates. As chronicled in Dava Sobel's book The Glass Universe, these women were every bit as capable as men despite toiling under less-than-favorable conditions. Williamina Fleming, for instance, classified over 10,000 stars using a scheme she created and was the first to recognize the existence of white dwarfs. While working six-day weeks at a job demanding "a large capacity for tedium," they were still expected to uphold societal norms of being a good wife and mother.
http://pop.h-cdn.co/assets/16/49/640x431/gallery-1481046355-photo6.jpg