No Longer Hidden: NASA Renames Headquarters After First Black Female Engineer
On Wednesday, NASA renamed its headquarters in the District of Columbia after Mary Jackson. A NASA spokesman said that agency “leadership is sensitive to the discussions of racism, discrimination and inequalities going on around the world. We are aware of conversations about renaming facilities and are having ongoing discussions with the NASA workforce on this topic. NASA is dedicated to advancing diversity and we will continue to take steps to do so.”
The New York Times:
NASA Names Headquarters After Its First Black Female Engineer, Mary Jackson
NASA announced on Wednesday that it would name its Washington, D.C., headquarters after Mary Jackson, the organization’s first black female engineer and a pivotal player in helping U.S. astronauts reach space. Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of NASA, said the agency would continue to honor those whose histories have long been overlooked. (Waller, 6/24)
The Washington Post:
NASA To Rename Headquarters For Mary W. Jackson, Agency’s First Female African American Engineer
Mary Jackson began her career in the 1950s in a segregated computing unit at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., that recently drew national attention as the setting for the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures,” based on a book by the same name. ...The news came the same day some in the space industry began to push NASA to change the name of the Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi, named for John C. Stennis, the longtime senator from Mississippi, a segregationist who opposed racial equality and the integration of schools. (Davenport, 6/24)
