Book Review: Hidden Figures
By Sophie Zucker
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
“They wore their professional clothes like armor. They wielded their work like weapons, warding off the presumption of inferiority because they were negro or female (pg. 102.)”
Although there were many compelling quotes throughout the novel, one of my favorites was this one. I chose this quote because it articulates the implications of being both black and a woman in the 1960s workplace. At the same time, it illustrates the pride that Johnson, Jackson and Vaughn took in their work for NASA despite such implications and shows us how they optimized their identities to alter the way that white men viewed their black female counterparts.
Margot Lee Shetterly talks childhood and Hidden Figures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRghIrJUYTk
How does this book change or enhance the definition of “celebrityhood?”
When we’re talking about celebrities, individuals in select professions come to mind immediately. Most often, we think of actors, singers, dancers, writers, models and designers (among others). Celebrityhood in the twenty-first century idolizes such individuals and emphasizes their wealth, their material goods, and their lifestyles. What celebrity culture seldom considers is how the person came to be famous in the first place, and what their background looks like as an individual as opposed to a celebrity.
I believe that this book reimagines the way we look at “celebrityhood.” In a world that admires popstars and actors for their luxury cars, houses, and clothing, Margot Lee Shetterly’s 2016 novel Hidden Figures reconsiders what it means to truly be a celebrity. Hidden Figures focuses on the tenacity and hardship of three middle-class black women in the 1960s and articulates how their contributions to NASA enabled one of the most profound space missions in history: the safe launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Rather than emphasizing the women’s wealth and luxury lifestyles — neither of which they had — Hidden Figures looks at the ways in which Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn overcame gender and racial discrimination in their workplace and facilitated the world-renown launch operation.
What contributions does this book make to social change?
Hidden Figures’ contributes greatly to social change, in that it recalls in detail the story of three extraordinary black women that might have otherwise been forgotten amid tales of modern-day wealth and stardom in America. This is not to invalidate self-made celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Jennifer Lopez, for example. Instead, the book services the long-ignored story of the minority heroes who, against all odds, contributed to society with their pure genius and determined mindset, as opposed to skills that often pave the way for fame, such as singing and dancing.
The novel contributes to a movement that has been ever-present in the year or so: Black Lives Matter. Although it was published before the BLM movement gained its momentum, Hidden Figures reiterates the institutionalized racism that has withstood in the United States since long before the 1960s. In particular, the book portrays an accurate picture of the deeply rooted racism in mega corporations and does not sugar coat or diminish the real struggle that black women endured to have their voice heard amid white male hegemony.
As I have mentioned in a previous blog post concerning Black Lives Matter, I believe a quintessential step towards change is accountability. Rather than tell the abridged version of a story that heroizes the white men who successfully sent John Glenn into space, Hidden Figures holds these individuals accountable for their racial and gender discrimination, and enables the true heroines of NASA to step forward, and alter the way we look at success within mega-corporations (and in society in general).
What new concept did this book introduce to the world?
By the time the book was published — 55 years after the true events occurred — the concept of black women in power had already been established (though still in the works.) Today, we can look to Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Aimee Allison, Oprah, to name a few, for examples of black women who have fought their way through a sea of white male counterparts to ensure that their voice was heard. In 1961, when the novel takes place, the idea of black women in power was far from fruition. Black women were seen as inferior both due to their race and their gender, as segregation dominated the United States until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was enforced. In 2021, change is unfolding before our eyes, as we’ve already made history with the first ever black-woman Vice President. Although black women in power is, unfortunately, a rather new construct, it is one will continue to gain momentum as our society leads in the fight for BLM.
