NASA Renames Headquarters After Its First Black Female Engineer, Mary W. Jackson!
On Wednesday, NASA announced that it will be renaming its headquarters in Washington D.C. to honor the organization’s first Black female engineer who helped U.S. astronauts reach space; Mary W. Jackson.
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“Mary W. Jackson was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. “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.”
Back In 1951, Jackson was recruited by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which in 1958 was succeeded by NASA.
She was a research mathematician who was later promoted to become the agency’s first black female engineer. Her story was portrayed in the popular film “Hidden Figures,” which also followed the journeys of fellow mathematicians Dorothy Vaughan and Katherine Johnson.
The agency’s move comes amid calls for greater racial equality — a discussion which was sparked following nationwide protests against police brutality and racism amid the recent police killing of George Floyd.
“The nation is beginning to awaken to the greater need to honor the full diversity of people who helped pioneer our great nation,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a statement. “Hidden no more, we will continue to recognize the contributions of women, African Americans, and people of all backgrounds who have made NASA’s successful history of exploration possible.”
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