Mary Jackson: Pioneering NASA's First Black Female Engineer
Mary Jackson, a mathematician and aeronautical engineer, stands as a monumental figure in American aerospace history. Her story is one of perseverance, breaking barriers, and inspiring future generations in STEM. Born on April 9, 1921, in Hampton, Virginia, she overcame the challenges of a segregated America to become the first African American female engineer at NASA, formerly known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
Early Life and Education
Mary Winston Jackson was born in Hampton, Virginia, to Ella and Frank Winston. She excelled academically from a young age. Hampton, Virginia, was the nexus of African American education and achievement. After graduating with high honors from George P. Phenix Training School in 1937, her intellectual pursuits led her to Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), where she earned dual bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physical science in 1942. Her time at Hampton was also marked by her initiation into Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first sorority founded by African American women, which played a critical role in her development and networking.
Early Career and Challenges
Post-graduation, Jackson faced the harsh realities of a segregated society. After graduation, Mary Jackson taught mathematics for a year at an African-American school in Calvert County, Maryland. She also worked as a bookkeeper at the National Catholic Community Center and as a receptionist and clerk at the Hampton Institute's Health Department. The lack of career advancement opportunities in teaching led her to explore opportunities at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA’s precursor.
In 1951, Jackson's career took a pivotal turn when she joined NACA as a research mathematician. She was assigned to the all-black West Area Computing Section, also known as the West Computers, where she worked under the supervision of Dorothy Vaughan. These women were known as "human computers," performing complex calculations to support aeronautical research. In 1953, Jackson began working with Kazimierz Czarnecki, conducting high-speed wind-tunnel experiments.
Despite President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 8802 prohibiting discrimination in the defense industry, Virginia state law still enforced segregation in the workplace. All work facilities had separate restrooms and cafeterias designated “white” or “colored.” Black people had to make their food requests to a cafeteria attendant and then go back to their desks and eat, an experience Jackson considered an indignity.
Read also: Explore the impact of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Becoming an Engineer
Czarnecki recognized Jackson's potential and encouraged her to train as an engineer. To do that, Jackson had to obtain special permission to take classes with white students. Confronted with segregation laws that prevented her from attending graduate classes with her white peers, Jackson petitioned the City of Hampton for permission to attend night courses in physics and mathematics at the all-white Hampton High School. Never one to flinch in the face of a challenge, Mary completed the courses, earned the promotion, and in 1958 became NASA’s first black female engineer.
Contributions to Aerospace Research
As an engineer, Jackson contributed substantially to aerospace research, particularly in understanding air flow, including thrust and drag forces on aircraft. She worked on the Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, a wind tunnel that helped scientists understand how planes would behave at supersonic speeds. Much of her work centered on the airflow around aircraft.
During her career, Jackson served on many organizations’ boards and committees, including the Girl Scouts of America, and was honored by numerous charitable organizations for her leadership and service.
Advocate for Equal Opportunity
By 1979, despite achieving the most senior engineering title available, she realized the limitations of her advancement and opted to change her focus. Seeing that the glass ceiling was the rule rather than the exception for the center’s female professionals, she made a final, dramatic career change, leaving engineering and taking a demotion to fill the open position of Langley’s Federal Women’s Program Manager. She accepted a demotion to open a new path in equal opportunity and affirmative action. She served as both the Federal Women’s Program Manager in the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and as the Affirmative Action Program Manager. From then until her retirement in 1985, she helped other women and minorities advance their careers, advising them to study and take extra courses to increase their chances for promotion.
Read also: The lasting impact of Wollstonecraft on education
Read also: William and Mary Law
tags: #Mary #Jackson #education #and #career
