Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures
As news editor of the eudwomen.org website, I have been posting articles
about Adventist women during Women’s History Month. I have also shared these
stories here on my private blog. I hope that it has been an interesting journey
of discovery to the beginnings of the Seventh-Day Adventist church in various
parts of the world.
Once
more, together with a group of women, I watched “Hidden Figures,” a movie that
always impresses me. The three highly qualified, extremely talented black women
faced so much discrimination despite the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Katherine
Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn managed to make a difference,
patiently waiting for their chance to show the world that women, black women at
that, must be taken seriously. It was a learning process for the scientists at NASA.
These women mathematicians before the time of computers helped to make the US
space program a success and get the first man on the moon. For about 50 years
they were hidden in the annals. It is the true story of great talent and
perseverance in the face of prejudice and discrimination.
Katherine
Johnson’s calculations were essential to the beginning of the Space Shuttle
program, and she worked on plans for a mission to Mars. She was known as a
"human computer" for her tremendous mathematical capability and
ability to work with space trajectories with such little technology and
recognition at the time. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded her the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2016, she was presented with the Silver
Snoopy Award by NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin and a NASA Group Achievement
Award. In 2019, Johnson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United
States Congress. In 2021, she was inducted posthumously into the National
Women's Hall of Fame.[1]
In 2019, Mary Jackson, the first black woman engineer at NASA, was posthumously
awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. In 2021, the Washington, D.C.
headquarters of NASA was renamed the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters.[2]
In 2019, Dorothy Vaughan, who mastered the workings of the first IBM beast and
became the first Computer Superintendent, was also honored with the
Congressional Gold Medal posthumously.[3]
The movie Hidden
Figures is based on the nonfiction book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold
Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race written by Margot Lee Shetterly, written in 2016
after 6 years of research.
During
Women’s History Month, I have been impressed by the many women in the early
days of the Seventh-Day Adventist church that I have found who made an impact
as pioneer missionaries, Bible workers, evangelists, teachers, nurses, doctors,
and even mission and conference administrators. They, too, have long been
hidden figures in the Adventist archives and only diligent research by private individuals
has discovered their valuable work. Attitudes changed at NASA and it is time
for the SDA church to acknowledge and honor its pioneer women.
Indeed,
distinguished leaders like Dr. Ella Simmons, the first woman Vice-President of
the General Conference receive a plaque honoring their lifelong service to the
church when they retire. The Women’s Ministries Department bestows Woman of the
Year Awards and the Association of Adventist Women (AAW) honors women from around the world as Women of the Year. However, the church as such has yet
to recognize the ground-breaking work of its women pioneers except for Ellen G.
White.
Looking back to the early times of the SDA church,
despite the difficulties women faced in society, they were accepted in the
church as valuable workers. They may have been paid less, but the church was
glad to let women follow their calling in whatever field they felt called by
God. Then, the men decided to take over and the church has not yet recovered
from the coup. For too many years, women were pushed to the sidelines, and the
examples of their good work were hidden. Just as the women of New Testament
times and the early church were made practically nonexistent by the Catholic church,
the SDA church has tried to give the impression that the work was done only by
men.
Some of my male peers in Europe do not understand my
passion for promoting justice and equity for women. They do not see the
disparagement. They say, “In our churches, women can do whatever they want. No one
stops them from using their talents.” Yes. In my local church, if women did not
take the initiative, not much would happen. We are allowed to do whatever needs
to be done. Most of us don’t even hear disparaging remarks. So why am I still
honking the horn to point out discrimination?
Discrimination can be so subtle that we don’t even
notice it. If we do not look out, we might lose all the progress we have made
with human rights. Some much-admired TV preachers call out human rights as the
devil’s work. Conservative SDAs are fighting to stop women from working as pastors.
Maybe not where we can see it, but it is happening. Efforts abound to put women
back on the sidelines. That is why I am sounding the warning siren.
Let us get the stories of our women out into the
public eye, where they can no longer be overlooked. The church needs both men
and women. Why should the women who held and hold up half the sky be
overlooked?
Photo: 20th Century Fox Home
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