NASA renames headquarters after its first black female engineer Mary Jackson

NASA’s first Black female engineer Mary Jackson who  subjected to racial segregation and prejudice in 1950s now has headquarters named after her in honour of her service to the Black community. A photograph shared by a page named Goodable on Twitter shows Jackson who served on many organizations’ boards and committees, including NASA, and was honoured by numerous charitable organizations for her leadership and service. 

The tweet was captioned, saying, that in the 1950s, Jackson had two advanced degrees but was still told she couldn't eat in the same cafeteria as white folk. While Mary is known for being on the team that calculated flight trajectories for Project Mercury and the Apollo program in the 1960s, the internet also knew her through the movie Hidden Figures where her role was featured on the big screen by  Janelle Monáe. In Salt Lake City, Utah, the Jackson Elementary school named after President Andrew Jackson was renamed as Mary W. Jackson Elementary School in honour of the NASA’s Black engineer. Jackson's story on Twitter has captivated many as they lauded and saluted the Black woman for fighting the racial discrimination and for her continued service in the Space research programs. 

According to NASA, “Mary’s own path to an engineering career at the NASA Langley Research Centre was far from direct.” Mary Jackson began her engineering career in an era in which female engineers of any background were a rarity, in the 1950s, she very well may have been the only black female aeronautical engineer in the field, NASA added. Among her many honours were an Apollo Group Achievement Award, and being named Langley’s Volunteer of the Year in 1976. She served as the chair of one of the center's annual United Way campaigns, as per NASA’s release on the website.  

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Female engineers a rarity in 1950s

“When NASA got their first electronic computer, she was the only one that could figure out how to code for it, salute,” wrote a commenter.” A true pioneer in so many ways. For women, Black women, and Black people,” wrote another. “I'm going to watch the movie again right now. It's been a while,” wrote another, referring to Hidden Figures. “All homage is little, congratulations on the initiative,” said the fourth.  

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