SARATOGA SPRINGS – Saratoga Jewish Community Arts (SJCA) will present a panel discussion of the film “Hidden Figures” on Zoom, Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.

The film is part of SJCA’s social justice series. The 2016 American biographical drama, co-produced and directed by Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder is loosely based on the book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly.

The film follows three African American women mathematicians — Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson— who challenged stereotypes and racial barriers at NASA during the “Space Race.”

Johnson was hired at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia in 1961. She became a pivotal figure among a small group of African American women colleagues, including Jackson and Vaughan. They worked in segregated facilities, and were assigned menial mathematics calculations, and received no respect from male colleagues.

Segregation shaped their daily experiences, particularly for Johnson. When her skills in analytic geometry are finally noticed, Johnson joined the Space Task Group that plots critical flight paths. Her white male engineers dismissed her contributions. However, when discrepancies arise in the IBM’s computer calculations, Johnson’s unparalleled mathematical skills became evident and indispensable. Her resolve, precision and diligence helped to ensure the success of the Friendship 7 mission with John Glenn aboard.

Jackson would later earn her engineering degree and  became NASA’s first African American female engineer, while Dorothy Vaughn blazed trails as NASA’s first African American supervisor. Katherine Goble Johnson co-authored reports with the lead engineer and calculated crucial trajectories for the Apollo 11 and Space Shuttle missions.

In 2015, Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 2016, NASA honored her enduring legacy by naming the Computational Building at Langley Research Center for her, a testament to her profound influence.

Pre-registration is required and may be obtained at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/dwKBJlE/HiddenFigures