Nasa, the US space agency, has renamed the street in front of its headquarters Hidden Figures Way, honouring the black female mathematicians who defied racial segregation to play a crucial part in its most celebrated missions. The designation honours African American mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, featured in the 2016 book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and the subsequent film directed by Theodore Melfi. New street signs were unveiled outside the Nasa offices on E Street in Washington. @NASA Administrator @JimBridenstine, @SenTedCruz, DC Council Chair @ChmnMendelson, and “Hidden Figures” author @margotshetterly unveil the “Hidden Figures Way” street sign at a dedication ceremony this morning. All 12 people who walked on the moon were white American men.

Source: The Guardian June 12, 2019 18:02 UTC