By now, most people have at least heard about Hidden Figures. This movie tells the true story of three black women employed at NASA during the early years of US's race to space against Russia. Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) served as mathematicians in the program, with the movie covering their time during the Friendship Seven launch and John Glenn's orbit around the Earth.
From the moment this film started, I teared up. Something inside me reacted right away to the shear fact that I was watching a black woman on screen in a role outside of what media usually provides. Watching a young Katherine display her intelligence, with great support from her family and community to nourish those talents, struck me clear to the heart. I knew everything I was about to witness was important, and this immediate shame set in for this story, this true story, being unfolded before my eyes for the very first time.
The struggle of minorities is not news to anyone. For far too long, we've been up against obstacles placed in front of us by those who don't want us to progress. Even today, the very society we live in is structured in a way to keep us from achieving more than what our oppressors originally intended. Sitting in the theatre watching this beautiful film, I could not help but to think of how wonderful this world would be today if stories like this weren't excluded from history. I tried to imagine myself at 15 years old, vulnerable and in need of role models I could easily relate to. Walking into class every day to learn about another white man and his accomplishments and forced to commit his name to memory. How I wished for the script to change, and this could have provided just that. Stepping into a classroom and learning, for a change, about three brilliant black women who contributed such profound work to the field of science would have been a great eye-opener for me. And not just me, but the rest of the world as well. There are so many untold stories of powerful and intelligent individuals of all colors who have contributed to much of what we take for granted today. However, their glory is attributed to the same default white persona each time. No credit is given and their names are erased from the topic. Our education system overlooks these important figures and only teaches us from a Euro-centric perspective.
So many minorities are viewed in a negative light, treated as if they do nothing to benefit society. As if we're all supposed to be happy and grateful at the simple fact that we are no longer slaves. And yet, slavery is the only label they allow us to wear in the teachings of history. We have been here every step of the way, in all aspects of this country's existence. We are just as capable, and in some cases more so, than our white counterparts and yet they still try to keep us down. They utilize our talents and reap the benefits of our achievements, then claim responsibility and write us off as secondary citizens. At what point will it stop? At what point will equal rights and acknowledgement be seen as just that? It continues to baffle my mind how equality and progress is viewed as oppression in the eyes of the oppressor. They fear being overthrown and treated as we have been treated, yet our real goal is to dismantle the unjust system currently set in place and build a new one that benefits all.
Hidden Figures is one of the most important films of all time, especially in today's political climate. It has never been more important for us to be represented in accurate and positive portrayals. The world needs to know who we are, what we are capable of, and how far we've come. The strength needed to survive and persevere throughout the years is not one that can be measured. I hope more and more see this film and walk away with the knowledge of how important diversity is to a successful society, and how large a role people of color have played in ours.
This is just one story of many. Here's to all that are to come.
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