“I’m at a loss for words, because this is a learning experience for me too,” said Dr. Rose Howard, principal of St. Louis Public Schools’ Gateway MST Elementary/Gateway Michael. “It’s a story that we all should have known about a long time ago. I’m in tears for real.”
On Saturday morning, her students and their families (nearly 100) were gifted with tickets to the 10:30 a.m. showing of “Hidden Figures” by The St. Louis American Foundation. They experienced something transformative. Watching them soak in the story of three African-American female employees at NASA, doing their part to represent their race with grace, dignity and excellence when blacks were treated as second class citizens was an inspiration all its own.
Despite the fact that it is a serious original dramatic movie, Hidden Figures has become a phenomenon at the box office. The film has crossed the $100 million mark. The movie’s appeal has been reflected here in St. Louis.
“I know that’s right,” more than one audience member shouted when NASA worker Mary Jackson (portrayed by Janelle Monae) clapped back at her foreign born white male supervisor’s suggestion that she wouldn’t be afraid to try out for their engineering program if she were a white man.
“If I were a white man, I’d already be one,” Jackson said.
Without any additional spoilers, that verbal exchange was one of many that moved the audience to respond – a couple was on the verge of being full-fledged ovations.
“I know that everyone else got something out of it too, because the way they were cheering everything on,” Howard said. “I’m just so grateful and thankful to the St. Louis American for providing us with this opportunity. We knew nothing about these wonderful ladies and what geniuses they were. This morning we taught them about history – African-American history and American history.”
“Hidden Figures” is Theodore Melfi’s film based on the best-selling book by Margot Lee Shetterly about the true story of a cadre of brilliant African-American women who worked at NASA during the early 1960s.
The film – which stars Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Costner and Mahershala Ali – focuses on Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Katherine G. Johnson. It gives particular attention to Johnson’s role in the launching of astronaut John Glenn, who became the first American to orbit Earth and the fifth person in space.
The ladies’ brilliance did not spare them from the harsh, demeaning reality of segregation and racism – even on the grounds of NASA.
The lesson of their perseverance and commitment to excellence was not lost on the audience, especially Brown’s fifth-grade, gender-based, all-female class that focuses on science, math and technology.
“My favorite part of the movie was seeing Katherine standing up for herself,” said Sierra Bradley, a student in the class.
Bradley also wants other people to see the film, to make sure that these women are “no longer hidden.”
As girls from the class lined up to share their thoughts on the film, some parents stopped Brown and thanked her for the opportunity to see the film. Others yelled out, “Thank you Dr. Howard,” as they scurried out the door to continue with their Saturday.
One man proclaimed he would be bringing others back to see the film again.
“I felt so lucky to see that an African American woman had a chance to do that and open up doors for so many others.” said Zoe Thompson, also one of Howard’s fifth-graders. “I hope that when people see this movie that they feel the same way that I do – that we as African American women can do anything.”
Brown continued to fight back those tears while proudly looking on as her “girls” sang the praises of “Hidden Figures.”
“I really wanted them to see that it’s okay to be smart, because sometimes, our babies feel that it’s not okay to be smart, but it’s okay to be cool,” Howard said. “I want them to know that they can reach for the stars if they want to – and after watching this movie, they see that they can help put other people in the stars too.”
Hidden Figures is now open in theatres nationwide. The film is rated PG with a running time of 127 minutes.
