Mary Winston Jackson
By: Brae Cecil
Mary Winston Jackson was a leader for all women working in the engineering industry. She was a feminist activist and fought for equality. She is known as a working computer. Her honorable tributes have given her recognition for her great work. She has shown girls that they can become successful if they work hard enough. It was not easy for Jackson to end up being an engineer working at NASA. She did have a harder time that others would because of her ethnicity and gender. It is women like Mary Jackson who have impacted our generations and future generations when it comes to gender equality. Sexism is something that occurs to women of all ages, all the time. It has gotten less popular over the years because of strong women. Mary Jackson is a great example of one of the powerful women who have proven gender stereotypes wrong. She is a leader for women in the working field. It was such a big deal for her to become a mathematician and engineer at the time because there were very few women who were taken seriously when wanting to apply for a job. Society had a hard time accepting women as equal to men. Today's generation is lucky to be educated enough to know that that is not true. We have wonderful role models to look up to that have made a difference in this world. Role models including Mary Winston Jackson.
Mary Jackson was well known for being one of the 'Human Computers'.
Background
Mary Jackson is known for being one of the first few African American, female, engineers and mathematicians. She was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia with her mother and father. Mary Jackson had always been a hard worker growing up. She attended an all-black school in her town. She was able to stand out in her school by graduating with the highest honors. After high school, she continued schooling at Hampton Institute where she left with her Bachelor of Science Degrees in Mathematics and Physical Science. She started out by working at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia before ending up at NACA which later was called NASA. She retired from NASA Langley Research Center in 1985 as an Aeronautical Engineer after 34 years of working.
Mary Jackson's Impact on Society
Mary Jackson has changed society by being a person of color, working with NASA. African Americans have been underrepresented in society for generations. They have been overlooked by society because of their ethnicity. Mary Jackson had a huge contribution to NASA while working as an aeronautical engineer. She put all of her time into her work and never let anything slow her down. There were other women who were part of her group that did not have the same energy as Jackson. They knew how they were viewed but never tried to stand up for themselves. Mary was one of the very few women in her group who fought for women's rights. She knew that she was certainly as capable of doing the same work as a man and wanted to prove that to the world.
Young women would benefit by hearing about Mary Jackson hear about all of her courageous acts that she performed throughout her life. They could use Mary Jackson as evidence to prove that they are worthy individuals of changing history just as she did. Not only are women looked down upon, but African American women specifically. Her story has allowed the people in NASA to rethink what they have grown up hearing. There is more to a woman than her outer layer. Women have properly functioning brains that can create change in this world.
It is important that women are encouraging to one another and not get sucked into sexist stereotypes. Mary Jackson is a great example of a woman who did not see any reason why she could not become a successful leader. It is the pressure people put on women to not seem smart or strong that make them feel discouraged. When one person spreads a statement that they believe to be true, it is hard for others to not follow the same path. Mary Jackson knew what she wanted and put all of her energy towards making that dream her reality It is the past that makes us think a certain way.
Mary Jackson Working At NASA
I chose to paint a galaxy on my plate to represent Mary Jackson's work at NASA. I wrote NASA in red in the center of the plate to emphasize an important part of her life. As for the runner, I wrote her name in bold letters in the front and added a picture of the NASA symbol as well as some glow in the dark stickers.I included and quote on the back that represents her opinion very well.
