Post by Logan on Feb 21, 2017 2:05:57 GMT -6
Civil rights pioneers Dorothy Vaughan, Patricia Turner honored at Black History Month celebration in Newport News
If Dorothy Vaughan knew a church was holding a service in her honor, she would have been horrified, said her grandson, Kenneth Vaughan Jr.
"She was just so humble," he said with a laugh.
Kenneth Vaughan Jr. said that for a long time, he didn't know much about his grandmother's career, besides that she worked at NASA Langley in Hampton, because she refused to talk about it. But now, thanks to a major motion picture, many have become familiar with her story as a pioneer for black women at NASA, where she became a supervisor and worked on the math and computing that helped send John Glenn into orbit in 1962 as part of the Friendship 7 mission.
The story of Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson, two other black women who worked as "human computers" at NASA, has been made famous by the movie "Hidden Figures," which was released in December and has garnered commercial and critical acclaim. Vaughan is portrayed by Octavia Spencer, who is nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Dorothy Vaughan and another local civil rights figure — Patricia Turner, one of 17 black students in Norfolk who integrated into white schools in 1958 — were honored at a Black History Month celebration held Sunday at Family Light Baptist Church in Newport News.
Read more: www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-hidden-figures-dorothy-vaughan-memorial-service-20170219-story.html
If Dorothy Vaughan knew a church was holding a service in her honor, she would have been horrified, said her grandson, Kenneth Vaughan Jr.
"She was just so humble," he said with a laugh.
Kenneth Vaughan Jr. said that for a long time, he didn't know much about his grandmother's career, besides that she worked at NASA Langley in Hampton, because she refused to talk about it. But now, thanks to a major motion picture, many have become familiar with her story as a pioneer for black women at NASA, where she became a supervisor and worked on the math and computing that helped send John Glenn into orbit in 1962 as part of the Friendship 7 mission.
The story of Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson, two other black women who worked as "human computers" at NASA, has been made famous by the movie "Hidden Figures," which was released in December and has garnered commercial and critical acclaim. Vaughan is portrayed by Octavia Spencer, who is nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Dorothy Vaughan and another local civil rights figure — Patricia Turner, one of 17 black students in Norfolk who integrated into white schools in 1958 — were honored at a Black History Month celebration held Sunday at Family Light Baptist Church in Newport News.
Read more: www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-hidden-figures-dorothy-vaughan-memorial-service-20170219-story.html