NASA
–
EQUALITY – NASA’s headquarters in Washington will be renamed in the name of its first African-American engineer, Mary Jackson, the administrator of the American space agency announced on Wednesday (June 24).
“Mary W. Jackson was one of a group of very important women who helped NASA successfully send US astronauts into space,” Bridenstine said in a statement.
By 1958, Mary Jackson had become the space agency’s first black aeronautical engineer. She is the author of numerous studies, notably on supersonic flights, reports AFP.
The street serving the already renowned headquarters
The head of the space agency pledged to continue to recognize the efforts of women, African Americans and people from all walks of life “who have enabled NASA to write a history of successful explorations.”
Faced with the pressure of the street and social networks, in a context of historical demonstrations, American companies and institutions have immersed themselves in a vast introspection on the place given to the African-American population in society and the systemic racism that it strikes and perpetuates inequalities.
Last year, NASA had already renamed the street serving its headquarters “Hidden Figures Way” in honor of three black mathematicians (Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan) whose work , documented in the film “Figures of the Shadows”, proved invaluable in the American space conquest.
See also on The HuffPost: The debate on ethnic statistics shows why it is difficult to talk about racism in France
–
