To give “Two Thumbs Up” wouldn’t touch the surface of the actual energy and grit I absorbed on this adventure and moving experience. I sat among many in the theater, however, somehow; some way; I was transported, actually catapulted into a moment in time with women who look like me and wanted what I want. I truly went on a journey that will forever impact me as an African American and woman.
First and foremost, this is not a movie rating. It’s an acknowledgment, from an African American woman (25 years in Human Resources Management), of the multifaceted DNA of great work parsed perfectly throughout the dialogue and poetic movement of every scene of this movie. These women, and many before and after, transformed an “Iron Ceiling” into a “Glass Ceiling”*. This invisible, but powerful barrier still haunts many women and minorities today. Professionals in the field of HR occupy a front row seat to witness the “Glass Ceiling” cage and thwart many inspired minorities and women in the workplace directly and through the testimonies of their peers. The plight still exists and the battle to win the war is still worth the sweat, tears and sacrifices spent trying to shatter this barrier each day. It is evident, by the history that was retold in this particular movie, that dismantling these barriers yields phenomenal outcomes for all.
Trying to define a comfortable or tolerable balance between work and life is challenging within itself, and adding race and gender to the mix of undeserved obstacles and challenges takes grit to sustain some resemblance of balance. I possess grit, and I have witnessed it, but this movie truly put it in my face like a life-size mirror. Watching the story unfold and the persona of the characters leap off the screen to snatch me into their struggles, conditions, worries, fears and victories, had me restless in my seat. I lived each moment through the lens of all of my identities, and it churned something inside me that I am now recognizing was partially dormant, my grit. Maybe this is attributed to the path, I have journeyed for quite a long time; that obstacles and challenges paint a different imprint and hue than that of Katherine, Mary and Dorothy are in the movie.
Although I am not living my life in the same era, and I am in no way comparing my trials today to those of these women, I have walked in these women’s shoes in some sort or fashion during some moments of my forty-seven years of life. I can’t say each encounter was met with their grit of which I internalized during this movie, but I have had my shining moments that were packed with an equal amount of fight and fear. I, like other women, who shared personally and through other sources, suffered oppression at the hands of a woman as my peer or leader. This, I will say, has dismayed my peace on more than one occasion. Not only has this dismayed my peace, but also my heart and soul. As a woman Servant Leader, it’s hard for me to accept that another woman would intentionally cast kerosene coated logs onto a fire that has been burning for centuries, and that she is afflicted. I intently live my life every day in a positive manner to eradicate this soiled and lost mindset that plagues my sisters, of and outside of my generation. I am hopeful that I am not alone in this plight and that the number of women that sync with these “Hidden Figures” greatly outweigh those that don’t.
The audience applauded with high regard for the film and the telling of the story as the credits shared images of the real heroines and heroes from this moment in history. This piece of art was positively impactful and motivating to me; and I know I wasn’t alone in experiencing those feelings at that moment. I walked away with the feeling that I have a debt to pay. A debt owed to all the African American women before me and those who are following behind my generation. A debt I proudly take on and plan to pay forward for the rest of my life with insurmountable grit. A heartfelt thank you to all who breathed life into Margot Lee Shetterly’s, “Hidden Figures”, and illuminated it on the big screen in a way that will benefit many for years to come.
THE TRUE HEROINES BEHIND “HIDDEN FIGURES”
KATHERINE JOHNSON DOROTHY VAUGHN MARY JACKSON
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*The United States Federal Glass Ceiling Commission defines the glass ceiling as “the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements.” The Federal Glass Ceiling Commission was formed when President George Bush appointed a 21 member bipartisan body to identify the barriers involved in employment for women and minorities. After the Civil Rights Act of 1991, President Bush decided to review the concept of the “glass ceiling.
Davita “Nicole” Carpenter, M.B.A., SHRM-SCP
