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美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Hidden Figures': How Black Women Did The Math That Put Men On The Moon

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'Hidden Figures': How Black Women Did The Math That Put Men On The Moon

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0008:41repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser1 to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Every now and again on this program we talk of remarkable2 stories that are hiding in plain sight, and this is another one. Now, you may be familiar with the space race where the United States and the Soviet3 Union competed to see which nation could soar higher and faster into outer space. You might know the names of the pioneering pilots and astronauts who steered4 those ships to new frontiers, names like Gus Grissom and Neil Armstrong.

But what about the people who helped send those satellites to space or who developed the exact calculations that would successfully land a man on the moon? Would it shock you to know that many of the researchers who helped the technological5 advances that made spaceflight possible were women and they were black women who played critical roles in the aeronautics6 industry even as Jim Crow was alive and well?

Now, Margot Lee Shetterly, a Hampton, Va. native and daughter of a former Langley scientist, is telling those stories in a new book, "Hidden Figures: The American Dream And The Untold7 Story Of The Black Women Mathematicians9 Who Helped Win The Space Race." And the story is already headed to the big screen. Margot Lee Shetterly joins us now from member station WVTF in Charlottesville, Va. Thank you so much for joining us.

MARGOT LEE SHETTERLY: Michel, thank you for having me.

MARTIN: Now, the book is set at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. It's the oldest NASA field center, for people who don't know. Tell us about some of the important work that took place at Langley.

SHETTERLY: Sure. Well, every time you go to an airport and get on a plane, you are basically taking advantage of the work that was done at Langley. Between the wars, between World War I and World War II, they did just tremendous amount of fundamental research into basically making airplanes safer, making them more stable, making them faster and turning them into the technology that is as ubiquitous as it is today.

MARTIN: Now, you were born in Hampton. Your dad was a scientist at Langley. And in the book, you write, (reading) as a child, I knew so many African-Americans working in science, math and engineering that I thought that's just what black folks did. You know, to that end, like, five of your father's seven siblings10 were engineers or in technology. Your next-door neighbor was a physics professor. How was it that so many African-Americans got opportunities at Langley? Why is it that so many people were there?

SHETTERLY: Well, one of the things that's true about Hampton Roads - it's a defense11 community. There's an air force base, there are several army bases, a Coast Guard center, shipyards. So it's a huge place in terms of the defense industrial complex. During World War II, hundreds of thousands of people actually - and among them many African-Americans - migrated to the Hampton Roads area because of the job boom that was happening. I mean, it was a place where you could get stable war jobs.

MARTIN: When you were growing up, did you know of the vital work that these women did?

SHETTERLY: I knew that many of them worked at NASA. I didn't know exactly what they did. I didn't know why they had started working there. I didn't know or really had questioned why there were so many women of all backgrounds working there until I started working on this book, you know? And it was like a window opened. And all of a sudden, you know, I started looking at not just those women but my hometown in a very different way.

MARTIN: One of the points that you make in the book over and over again, that it wasn't just Katherine Johnson. She's the most recognized of all the NASA human computers, black or white. And that - you make a point of saying that she very much wants other people's work to be acknowledged. But if you could just briefly12 tell us a little bit about Katherine Johnson?

SHETTERLY: Right. So Katherine Johnson, of all of the women, many people at this point certainly have probably heard her name. She started work at Langley in 1953. She was originally working on airplanes, as many people were. But then she was one of the people who worked on Project Mercury, which was our country's first manned space program. And Katherine Johnson did many things, but among them was co-author a report writing the trajectory13 equations for putting a craft into orbit around the Earth.

One of the most notable moments of her career was leading up to the orbital launch of John Glenn's flight, which was really a turning point in the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. You know, the Russians had gotten a real head start into space. America was playing catch up. And this was also a moment where electronic computers were taking over the task of much of the - you know, the calculating that was necessary for these increasingly complex missions.

But as sort of a handoff moment between human computers and electronic computers, John Glenn asked Katherine Johnson - he actually asked the girl - you know, all of the women working at that time were referred to as girls. And he said, get the girl to do it. You know, I want this human computer to check the output of the electronic computer. And if she says they're good then, you know, I'm good to go, you know, as part of one of my pre-flight checklists. So the astronaut who became a hero looked to this black woman in the still-segregated14 South at the time as one of the key parts of making sure his mission would be a success.

MARTIN: Thank you for that because that really kind of sums up so much of what's remarkable about the story. I mean, you point out in the book how they were doing this incredibly important work. Truly, you could argue lifesaving work because if they were wrong, someone could die. I mean, that's just a fact, right? If their...

SHETTERLY: That's a fact.

MARTIN: ...Calculations were wrong, their - they - someone could die. But they still had segregated offices. They still had - didn't they have a segregated cafeteria? Didn't they have segregated restrooms?

SHETTERLY: They did, yes. They started out - when the first five black women took their seat in the office in 1943 during World War II, it was in a segregated office with colored girls' bathroom and a table for the colored computers.

MARTIN: And not just that. I mean, I think that one of the things that you talk about is the dual15 nature of that experience. And in fact, I mean, it is not surprising to me that it's already being made into a film starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Butler and Janelle Monae. The film is expected to be released in January. I just want to play a short clip from the trailer. This is Taraji P. Henson, who plays Katherine Johnson.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HIDDEN FIGURES")

TARAJI P HENSON: (As Katherine Johnson) Yes, they let women do some things at NASA, Mr. Johnson. And it's not because we wear skirts. It's because we wear glasses.

(LAUGHTER)

MARTIN: That's - there's so many things that are remarkable about this story, including the fact that this is your first book...

SHETTERLY: It is.

MARTIN: ...Which is incredible to me. And you're not an historian. And why do you think we don't know this story? Now, I confess to you that when I mentioned to a couple of different people that I was working on this and that I was about to have this conversation with you, a number of people said the same thing to me, which is it makes me mad. Why didn't I know this? Why am I only just finding this out? Why do you think that is?

SHETTERLY: That is such a good question. I would say that is the one question that everybody asks me about this. And, you know, it's something I really kind of struggle with because on the one hand, a lot of people did know this story in Hampton, Va. You know, I was just in Hampton yesterday and was talking to a lot of different people, and they were like, well, we did know these women. And we knew they worked there. And they were all very modest.

If you ask Katherine Johnson, how did it feel to be a trailblazer and do this very high-pressure, groundbreaking work, you know, just as often she'll say, well, I was just doing my job. And I think a lot of the women period felt that. They had a lot of different identities in addition to being professional mathematician8 at NASA. They were mothers. They were wives. They were people who were active in their church, in their community. So this was only one aspect of their identity.

But I think a lot of it's because it was women's work. I mean, the engineers were the men, and the women were the mathematicians or the computers. The men designed the research and did the manly16 stuff, and the women did the calculations, you know, at the behest of the engineers. And so I think that it really does have to do with us over the course of time sort of not valuing that work that was done by women, however necessary, as much as we might. And it's taken history to get a perspective on that.

MARTIN: That was Margot Lee Shetterly, author of the book "Hidden Figures." She was kind enough to join us from member station WVTF in Charlottesville, Va. Margot Lee Shetterly, thank you so much for speaking with us.

SHETTERLY: Michel, thank you for having me on.

[POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In the audio of this story, the actress Octavia Spencer is misidentified as Octavia Butler.]


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1 browser gx7z2M     
n.浏览者
参考例句:
  • View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
  • I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。
2 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
3 Soviet Sw9wR     
adj.苏联的,苏维埃的;n.苏维埃
参考例句:
  • Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
  • Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。
4 steered dee52ce2903883456c9b7a7f258660e5     
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导
参考例句:
  • He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
  • The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 technological gqiwY     
adj.技术的;工艺的
参考例句:
  • A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
  • Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今, 随着科技进步,生活节奏不断增快。
6 aeronautics BKVyg     
n.航空术,航空学
参考例句:
  • National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
  • He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。
7 untold ljhw1     
adj.数不清的,无数的
参考例句:
  • She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
  • They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖,因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。
8 mathematician aoPz2p     
n.数学家
参考例句:
  • The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
  • The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。
9 mathematicians bca28c194cb123ba0303d3afafc32cb4     
数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗? 来自英汉文学
  • Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分
10 siblings 709961e45d6808c7c9131573b3a8874b     
n.兄弟,姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分
11 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
12 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
13 trajectory fJ1z1     
n.弹道,轨道
参考例句:
  • It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
  • The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。
14 segregated 457728413c6a2574f2f2e154d5b8d101     
分开的; 被隔离的
参考例句:
  • a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
  • The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。
15 dual QrAxe     
adj.双的;二重的,二元的
参考例句:
  • The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
  • He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。
16 manly fBexr     
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地
参考例句:
  • The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
  • He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务,并希望别人效之。
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