Yesterday the trailer for Hidden Figures was released. You can watch it here if you haven't yet (or if you want to rewatch). The movie is based on the book Hidden Figures written by Margot Lee Shetterly. It will be released on September 6, 2016. You can pre-order it here.

 

It is a nonfiction book about African American women who worked at NASA specifically Katherine Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. K. Jackson started working at NASA in 1953. She is still alive, currently 97 and her 98th birthday is in 11 days. Vaughan started working at NACA (pre-cursor to NASA) in 1943 but sadly she passed away in 2008. M. Jackson started working at NACA in 1950 but passed away in 2005. They were all incredibly smart women and were key parts of the Space Race and beyond.

 

I will definitely be buying the book when it comes out. Probably won't see the movies in theaters because I just absolutely hate movie theaters. I prefer watching movies alone at home.

 

The book I am currently reading, Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt is also about the history of women at NASA, just 99.99% about white women. Really. Despite covering the same time period as Hidden Figures, there is only one African American woman in the entire book and her name is Janez Lawson.