“Hidden Figure” Mary W. Jackson’s NASA Legacy and the Unity Campaign
Dear NASA Family,
Please join me in watching Hidden No More: A Discussion about the Life and Legacy of Mary W. Jackson, a special event with Margot Lee Shetterly, author of “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.”
This conversation, recorded and now available online, follows our recent naming of the headquarters building in Washington in her honor and continues our conversation on the importance of diversity and inclusion.
I was honored to join NASA Chief Historian Bill Barry to discuss with Shetterly the trailblazing women of Langley’s West Area Computing Unit, and particularly Jackson’s impact at NASA. She broke down barriers as NASA’s first black female engineer and was a champion for creating an inclusive workplace, devoting much of her career to advancing opportunities for women and minorities across the agency.
Jackson understood that achieving true mission success demands a diverse, highly-qualified workforce that is representative of all of America. Jackson embodied NASA’s core values of Safety, Excellence, Integrity, and Teamwork, but her legacy is defined by all she did to create opportunity for others.
It is in this spirit that today I am announcing the addition of a fifth NASA core value: Inclusion.
Inclusion – NASA is committed to a culture of diversity, inclusion, and equity, where all employees feel welcome, respected, and engaged. To achieve the greatest mission success, NASA embraces hiring, developing, and growing a diverse and inclusive workforce in a positive and safe work environment where individuals can be authentic. This value will enable NASA to attract the best talent, grow the capabilities of the entire workforce, and empower everyone to fully contribute.
Incorporating Inclusion as a NASA core value is an important step to ensuring this principle remains a long-term focus for our agency and becomes ingrained in the NASA family DNA. Together, we can continue to accomplish great things for all of humanity.
Please enjoy this great discussion about Mary W. Jackson’s legacy.
Ad astra,
Jim
