Spotlight Sunday

Hidden Figures

These 3 were the “hidden figures” behind some of NASA’s biggest successes and leading ladies in giving black women the credit and positions they deserve. Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan all worked as “human computers” in NASA’s Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. These women were hired as mathematicians to compute the work of technology for data analysis, launch trajectory, and more! However, because of their skin, they were segregated to work in the “West Area Computers” section of the laboratory. Despite the hardships placed on them by segregation, discrimination, and sexism, these women rose to the top of their field and proved, yet again, the capabilities and strength of black women.

Malala Yousafzai

At the age of 15, Malala was shot in the left side of her forehead by the Taliban because of her activism for girls education in Pakistan. Instead of letting this life threatening event stop her motivation, she took her dreams even further. In 2014, she created the “Malala Fund” which works to provide girls all over the world with the opportunities and the education they deserve. Not to mention, she spoke in front of the United Nations (UN) at the age of 16(2013), became the youngest person to ever receive a Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17(2014), and graduated from Oxford College in 2020!

Jerry Yang

Jerry Yang was born in Taiwan and moved to the United States at the age of 10 in 1978 with his mom and brother. Upon coming to the US, the only English word he knew was “shoe.” Fast forward many successful years later, Yang received a bachelors and masters degree from Stanford in only 4 years. However, he then dropped out of the Ph.D program with his classmate, David Filo, and Yahoo! was born. The two had originally named the platform “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web” and later changed it to the acronym Yahoo! for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.” Yang stayed with Yahoo! from 2009-2012 and became one of America’s wealthiest men during that time. Currently, he works through his firm, AME Cloud Ventures, to invest in the next generation of technologies. In 2007, he and his wife donated $75 million to his alma mater, and in 2017, he pledged $25 million to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco (the museums highest donation ever)!

Madam C.J. Walker

Walker was born Sarah Breedlove, the fifth and first free-born child to Owen and Minerva in 1867. After developing a scalp disorder in the 1890s, she began designing hair care treatments for herself and black women alike. Her husband helped her create advertisements and suggested she rebrand her product under the name “Madam C.J. Walker.” She and her husband traveled the country teaching and giving lecture demonstrations on the “Walker Method.” In 1908, Walker opened a factory and a beauty school, and the Madam CJ Walker Manufacturing Company made profits of the modern day equivalent to 7 million dollars. Walker immersed herself in the social and political culture by making donations to different non profits, many improving the lives of African Americans. Her house is now a designated National Historic Landmark as of 1976 and a line of products under the name Madam CJ Walker Beauty Culture is available at Sephora today. Walker’s life is also portrayed in the 2020 Netflix series, “Self Made.”

Dolores Huerta

Dolores was born in New Mexico in 1930 and grew up most of her childhood with her mom and brothers in Stockton, California. Seeing the students she taught come to school with empty stomachs and bare feet inspired her life’s work to correct economic injustice. She accomplished many things in the line of helping farm workers including: founding the Agricultural Workers Association, co-launching the National Farm Workers Association(1962), helping enact the Agricultural Relations Act of 1975, and being a spokesperson for United Farm Workers. Dolores also did important work in challenging gender discrimination in the farm worker’s movement. She traveled across the country for 2 years with “Feminist Majority’s Feminization of Power Campaign” which encouraged more Latina’s to run for office. As founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she still works at age 90 to influence legislation that supports equality and defends civil rights. She even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, on top of many other achievements. Read more about her amazing journey at doloreshuerta.org!

Duke Kahanamoku

Duke Kanamoku was born on August 24, 1890 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Growing up a swimming sensation in the waters of Waikiki, he went on to break 3 freestyle world records, win 3 Golds and 2 Silvers (1912/1920 Olympics: 100 meter freestyle & US relay team), and win Bronze as an alternate on the US water polo team (1932 Olympics). He was also vital in spreading surfing and “the spirit of aloha” around the world— earning him the nickname, “the father of modern surfing” and appointing him the new state of Hawaii’s Official Ambassador of Aloha (1960). One way he did this was by pioneering the Waikiki Beach Boys, a group of watermen who taught visitors how to surf and canoe. On top of water sports, he acted in 28 Hollywood films between 1922-1930 and was re-elected 13 times as the Sheriff for the city and county of Honolulu between 1934-1959. His many accomplishments got him inducted into the Swimming(1968), Surfing(1968), and US Olympic(1984) Halls of Fame. Today, you can find statues, postage stamps, swimming contests, and more dedicated in his honor!

Jenny Han

Jenny Han was born in Richmond, Virginia on September 3, 1980! She even graduated from a high school many of you might know, Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School. Jenny earned her MFA in creative writing at the New School as she published her debut novel, “Shug”, in 2006. However, Han is probably best known for her two New York Times bestselling trilogies, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” She also served as an executive producer on all 3 movies when the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” trilogy was brought to our screens on Netflix in 2018. This trilogy in both book and movie form is especially important and impactful because the storyline features multiple main characters of Korean descent. Highly suggest reading her novels and watching this trilogy on Netflix!

Ahmed Zewail

Born in Egypt in 1946, Ahmed Zewail was educated at the University of Alexandria in Egypt and then went on to finish his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. After completing a 2 year fellowship, he was then appointed as the assistant professor of chemical physics at the California Institute of Technology. In 1995, Zewail was awarded the Linus Pauling Chair of Professor in Chemistry, a position he held until death. However, the main work he is known for is his pioneering in the field of femtochemistry (the study of chemical reactions in an extremely short time period)— “The Father of Femtochemistry.” Over his lifetime, he published over 600 papers and 14 books. Then, in 1999, Ahmed Zewail became the first Egyptian scientist to win the Nobel Peace Prize. On top of all this, his work affected the political climate as well. In 2009, President Barack Obama announced a new program of “Science Envoys” that were part of a fresh start with the Muslim world. Zewail became one of the first of three science emissaries to Islam. Finally, from 2009-2013, he served as a member of the Presidential Council of Advisors in Science and Technology. To read a first person narration of his life and accomplishments, go to nobelprize.org and read up!

Selena Quintanilla-Perez

Selena was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Coming from a music background himself, her father recognized her and her siblings talent and made his children into a family band. This band, “Selena y Los Dinos,” performed at their father’s restaurant, weddings, and parties. Her father wrote songs in Spanish for the band to perform, even though Selena did not speak Spanish. Touring around the state of Texas finally paid off when the band opened for a popular Tejano band called Mazz. Then, after a few unpopular attempts at recording music, she took to the stage yet again as a young teenager and played many different types of music such as rythym and blues and still the classic Tejano (Tex-Mex Music). In 1988, Selena was voted the female artist of the year at the Tejano Music Awards and then again and again for the next 7 years! Towards the end of her life, Selena wanted to record songs in English to gain the kind of successes to comparable artists such as Madonna. However, her time got cut short when she was shot and killed at the young age of 23 by the president of her fan club (yep, you heard that right). Her English and Tejano album, “Dreaming of You” (1996) was released after her death in 1995. You can learn more about her life by watching “Selena: The Series” on Netflix!

Patsy Mink

Patsy Mink was born on December 6, 1927 in Paia, Hawaii. She graduated college with zoology and chemistry majors and first wanted to become a doctor. However, after being rejected from several medical schools, she was accepted into the University of Chicago Law School. In 1952, she moved back to Hawaii after marrying John Mink and having her daughter. Because of her interracial marriage, she was unable to find work as a lawyer, so she founded her own practice, Oahu Young Democrats(1954), becoming the first Japanese-American woman to practice law in Hawaii. Mink then won a seat in the Hawaii State Senate in 1962. After years of unrequited campaigning, she won a seat in the US House of Representatives in 1964. During her time of in the House, Patsy Mink fought for gender and racial equality, affordable childcare, and bilingual education. She even co-authored Title IX(gender education equality) and passed the Women’s Educational Equity Act in 1974. Mink went on to be the first Asian-American to run for President but sadly lose with only 2% of the votes. Afterwards, she still continued to stay highly active in the political world.

Christine Sun Kim

As a member of the deaf community, Christine uses art forms such as drawings, performance, and installation work to explore sound. Through her work, she advocates for the Deaf culture and shares her struggles, perspectives, and activism as a part of the deaf and Asian-American communities; she makes connections between linguistics, music, and American Sign Language (ASL). Kim has many accomplishments under her belt including: her TED talk on “The Enchanting Music of Sign Language,” magazine & newspaper activism interviews, museum exhibits, artwork displays in Times Square, being the first deaf Asian-American to sign the National Anthem at the Super Bowl(second slide), and her recent participation with the Hirshborn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s Artist Diaries program!

Apolo Ohno

Ohno’s love for sports was encouraged by his Japanese-born father. After some success in competitive swimming and in-line roller skating, he took up short track speed skating at the age of 12. His talent on the ice was immediately recognized when he became the youngest skater ever to be accepted into the residency program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. After competing in a total of three Games (2002, 2006, 2010), he accumulated a total of 8 medals— two gold, two silver, and four bronze. Today, he utilizes his understanding of sport psychology and personal experiences to help others. Through his speaking engagements and partnerships with many organizations and non-profits, he has helped evolve the mindset of many business leaders and executives. As of 2011, he is now a New York Times best selling author who focuses on translating his successes and life lessons into business.