Hidden Figures

This refers to the idea among African Americans of victory over enemies both abroad and at home. During World War II, the African American community saw the fight for democracy by the United States and its allies as somewhat ironic if democracy at home—full democracy, for all—was not realized. The lives of Black citizens were a testament to the fact that this was not yet the case. They were determined to fight for their country in the war effort while also fighting to make it more democratic. The term echoes the idea of “double-consciousness” that W. E. B. Du Bois refers to his 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk. Du Bois writes that African Americans had a kind of dual identity as Americans, but a qualified kind of American as Black Americans—somehow “less than” in the eyes of whites. This dual identity meant that African Americans were not equal in American society and thus did not enjoy the full benefits of democracy that white Americans did. 

This was a presidential order issued by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, which asserted that there be no discrimination in defense industries based on race or ethnicity. Shetterly explains how this came about as a result of a threatened march on Washington by the African American labor leader A. Philip Randolph. To avoid any such strikes or demonstrations, and thus a slowdown in the war production, Roosevelt issued this executive order. Dorothy was a direct beneficiary of the policy, as she was hired by Langley in 1943, when it was expanding its search for employees to include more African Americans, and the other women profiled in the book followed in her footsteps. 

President Harry Truman issued this executive order, which enhanced the one signed by his predecessor. Department heads at federal agencies were now deemed “personally responsible” for making sure there was no discrimination in their departments. One new requirement was for each department to appoint a Fair Employment Officer who reported on the progress adhering to the order. 

With this, the federal government went a step further in its efforts to create a nondiscriminatory work environment. Agencies, departments, and all federal contractors were to use “affirmative action” toward this end. President John Kennedy signed this order in 1961, not long after he was inaugurated. Shetterly uses the three executive orders by Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy to illustrate the progress of the federal government in ensuring equal opportunities for all citizens regardless of race.

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a federal agency that existed from 1915 to 1958, founded to conduct research in aeronautics. Only two years after it was established, the NACA created Langley Field and Langley Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia, to conduct hands-on testing. Shetterly notes that the acronym for this agency should be preceded by “the” (unlike the common usage for “NASA,” which is pronounced as a word without a preceding “the”).

In 1958, largely in response to the success of the Soviets in launching their Sputnik satellite, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which placed an emphasis on the newly emerging field of space exploration. As a result, the NACA was renamed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA.