Black History

NASA Headquarters Street Renamed for ‘Hidden Figures’ Mathematicians

WASHINGTON INFORMER — Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson were Black female mathematicians at NASA, the U.S. space agency. They faced incredible adversity and defied racial segregation to play important roles in major missions to space. The three women were celebrated and profiled in the 2016 book “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly and the subsequent film by the same name directed by Theodore Melfi.

Published

6 years ago

June 18, 2019

Katherine Lewin Special to The Informer via DiversityInc

By Katherine Lewin, Special to The Informer via DiversityInc

Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson were Black female mathematicians at NASA, the U.S. space agency. They faced incredible adversity and defied racial segregation to play important roles in major missions to space.

The three women were celebrated and profiled in the 2016 book “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly and the subsequent film by the same name directed by Theodore Melfi.

The film starred Janelle Monáe, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer and received three Oscar nominations for showcasing the women’s struggles to advance in their careers during the Jim Crow era.

During the 1950s, mathematicians were called “computers” and Black people were known as “colored computers.” Black women were physically separated from their white colleagues even though they were calculating the same trajectories for missions involving the first Americans in space.

Now, NASA has taken a further step and renamed the street in front of its D.C. headquarters Hidden Figures Way.

The moment was captured on video on June 12 and people on Twitter in D.C. are celebrating too with the hashtag #BlackScienceHistory.

Shetterly, Sen. Ted Cruz, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on aviation and space, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, Christine Darden, one of NASA’s human “computers” during the Apollo era and members of each woman’s family were there to unveil the sign on E Street.

In February, NASA renamed a facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, after Johnson. She is now 100 years old. In 2015, former President Barack Obama awarded her the presidential medal of freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Next month, NASA and the rest of the U.S. will be celebrating next month’s 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and first moon landing. All 12 people who walked on the moon were white American men.

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

Katherine Lewin Special to The Informer via DiversityInc

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Oakland Post: Week of March 12 – 18, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 12 – 18, 2025

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March 16, 2025

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Arts and Culture

Beverly Lorraine Greene: A Pioneering Architect and Symbol of Possibility and Progress

Greene graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1936 with a degree in Architecture — a remarkable accomplishment for an African American woman at the time. She was never discouraged by the racial and gender discrimination that saturated her field.

Published

3 weeks ago

March 3, 2025

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Beverly Lorraine Greene. Public domain photo.

By Tamara Shiloh

In the mid-20th century, Beverly Lorraine Greene was recognized as the first African American woman licensed to practice architecture in the United States.

Greene was born on Oct. 4, 1915, in Chicago during an era when opportunities for African Americans, particularly women, were severely limited.

Her parents, James and Vera Greene, were deeply invested in her education, instilling in her a belief in the power of intellect and perseverance. She grew up during the Great Migration that transformed Chicago starting in 1900.

Greene continued her education, earning a master’s degree in City Planning and Housing in 1937, also from the University of Illinois. Her ambition was not merely to design structures but to shape spaces that fostered equity and community. In 1942, she became the first African American woman licensed as an architect in the United States, obtaining her credentials in Illinois. This groundbreaking achievement, however, did not translate immediately into job opportunities.

Early in her career, she faced significant discrimination from firms unwilling to hire a Black woman. However, her determination never wavered. In 1945, Beverly moved to New York City, a place she believed could offer broader professional opportunities.

She joined the architectural department of the New York City Housing Authority, focusing on affordable housing projects. Her work during this time reflected her commitment to using architecture as a tool for social justice, ensuring that marginalized communities had access to well-designed, dignified living spaces.

Greene’s talents soon drew the attention of prominent firms. She was hired by Isadore Rosenfield, a respected architect known for designing hospitals. She contributed to the design of healthcare facilities, including the modernization of Harlem Hospital. Her portfolio expanded in collaboration with architectural personalities such as Marcel Breuer and Edward Durell Stone.

Notably, she worked on the prestigious UNESCO headquarters in Paris — a landmark project that brought her skills to an international stage. Her involvement underscored her ability to navigate the intricacies of large-scale, global projects, proving that her talents transcended the limitations society sought to impose.

Greene’s career was tragically cut short when she passed away unexpectedly in 1957 at the age of 41. Though her life was brief, her impact was profound. She shattered entrenched barriers, paving the way for future generations of Black architects and women in the field.