The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will rename its headquarters after Mary W. Jackson who served as the agency’s first African American female engineer and whose story inspired the book and movie “Hidden Figures.”
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in the agency’s announcement on Wednesday said, “Mary W. Jackson was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space,” adding: “Mary never accepted the status quo, she helped break barriers and open opportunities for African Americans and women in the field of engineering and technology.”
According to NASA, Jackson’s career with the agency kicked off at the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. She was a gifted mathematician and an aerospace engineer. Jackson also led programs aimed at uplifting women within NASA.
She retired from NASA in 1985 and passed away in 2005, at the age of 83.
President Donald Trump in November of 2019 signed into law the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act.
President Donald Trump signed into law the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act in November of 2019. Jackson, along with her esteemed African American colleagues Christine Darden, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan were awarded Congressional Gold Medals. Vaughan and Jackson, who passed away, were both awarded posthumously.
All of the women were written about in the book “Hidden Figures,” which later became an acclaimed film — starring Janelle Monáe as Jackson — detailing the contributions of the Black women to an early spaceflight.
Bridenstine said, “Hidden no more, we will continue to recognize the contributions of women, African Americans, and people of all backgrounds who have helped construct NASA’s successful history to explore.”
The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building will sit on Hidden Figures Way.
