Morgan Zantua, Executive Director

Honoring Black History Month

Last week I shared the CityU mission and value of providing opportunities to underrepresented adult populations to achieve their dream of life-long learning and advancing their career. I failed to acknowledge that February is Black History Month.   

I researched the contributions made by Black Scientists, engineers, mathematicians, chemists, and continued to target Black Innovators & Technologist aligned closely with the courses taught here at CityU. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the individuals who have contributed significantly to our lives today.   

For individuals who missed the movie, or haven’t read the book, Hidden Figures, (available through CityU’s library) I would like to acknowledge the contributions made by Mary Jackson, engineer and mathematician, Katherine Johnson, mathematician, and Dorothy Vaughan, mathematician. These Black women made significant contributions to the NASA SPACE program in the 1960s. I took time to fact-check the Hollywood movie hype compared to the actual events. While 85% of the events were accurate, certain events portrayed in the movie, were dramatized to create the Hollywood experience. Remember, the movie Hidden Figures was created in a way to draw in more viewers, so a level of artistic license was used. For instance, Kathrine Johnson did, in fact, hand calculate John Glenn orbital trajectory. However, it took three days to perform the actual calculations. Mary Jackson’s challenges were slightly altered to dramatize her situation. While Jackson never went to court to appeal for the right to attend night classes offered at a segregated white high school, she did have to receive special permission through a written application process. Hidden Figures – Jackson, Johnson, and Vaughan are just some examples of the integral contributions and patchwork that Black Americans have and continue to provide in the whole of American history.  

Black Americans are contributors to what makes CityU and STC an amazing educational experience. More diversity in technology means better technology for everyone. I would like to honor our Black faculty members for what they are doing to shape technology and share who they are with you. These leaders are shaping you, our future technology leaders.