With February being Black History Month and March being Women’s History Month, there are few better stories than one that honors both as noted below. Here is a reprise of a post I wrote six years ago.
My family had the opportunity to see the movie “Hidden Figures” recently. It may be one of the finest movies I have seen in the past few years. From the online movie summary, it is about the “incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit….The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.”
The movie stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, with a key role for Kevin Costner. These three mathematicians helped plot a course into space, so that our astronauts could return safely. And, when computers were destined to replace them, one taught other African-American women in the computing department how to program in Fortran to save their jobs and supply capable talent to the NASA space effort, since so few folks knew Fortran.
We must value diversity for its own sake, but also from economic and development standpoints. If we limit where ideas can come from, we limit ideas. It gets no simpler than that math equation. As Johnson notes, math does not care what color you are. The other key point is the math to launch, orbit and return safely was breaking new ground, so innovative thinking was key. Johnson offered that kind of innovation, which married some old school math to solve the new problems.
Throughout history, ideas have come from those who understand and are in proximity to the problem. A gay man named Alan Turing saved over a million lives in World War II and shortened the war by two years per General Dwight Eisenhower by solving the Nazi Enigma communication code. Yet, he had to hide his homosexuality and was later imprisoned for it when discovered. This WWII hero died in jail. The 2014 movie “The Imitation Game” is about Turing’s efforts.
A black man named Vivien Thomas helped solve the Blue Baby death problem by restoring the full flow of blood from the heart through groundbreaking open heart surgery on a baby. Yet, like the NASA mathematicians, he had to battle racism which would not allow him in the operating room, at first. His story is told in the 2004 movie, “Something the Lord Made.”
Jesus said we should treat each other like we want to be treated. It is the right thing to do, but it is also the wise thing to do. Please remember this quote from an economist who advised Presidents Reagan and Clinton, “Innovation is portable.” And, where it occurs is where the jobs start. So, we need to let innovative ideas flourish regardless of their source.
musingsofanoldfart 
“If we limit where ideas can come from, we limit ideas.” This sentence needs to become a mantra, especially for everyone who wants to go into politics! Keith, would you allow me to quote you with this sentence?
Thanks Erika. Whether it is business, science, government, et al, being open to ideas is wise. I have shared the story of Paul O’Neill, who turned around a floundering Alcoa as a new CEO by focusing on safety as a means to gain buy in from management and unions. As a result, communication up, down and across the organization improved, so ideas to improve the company were getting heard, vetted and explored. The earnings and stock price soared thereafter. Keith
Great story, and I think I remember. That is the concept of success and brings a positive spiral in motion.
Note to Readers: Since this is Women’s History month, an apt conclusion from the book “Half the sky” by Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristoff lends itself to the concept of not limiting where you get ideas. The book is based on the maltreatment of women around the globe and it’s premise is that it’s not only wrong, it is economically limiting as women hold up “half the sky.” In other words, if you treat women as possessions, you are competing in a world with only half your assets. More than anything, it shows you better value everyone’s ability to give input.
Wow. It’s been 6 years already? Seems like just yesterday that this film came out.
I was surprised by that too.