Katherine Johnson and 9 Other Black Female Pioneers in Science

These African-American women in STEM broke the racial barrier and skyrocketed to the top of their field.

By BRAD WITTER via https://www.biography.com

Throughout history, black women have faced the uphill battles of both racial and gender biases, especially in male-dominated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Even so, many overcome their adverse circumstances, making invaluable contributions to the scientific community, particularly in the United States Space Program. The issue, however, is that the contributions these brilliant pioneers made largely went unnoticed.

NASA scientists including Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jacksonbegan to get some overdue credit, however, when author Margot Lee Shetterly released her 2016 tome, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race. A film adaptation with the shortened title, Hidden Figures, hit theaters the same year to great acclaim, …

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