Week of February 8, 2017 Vol 49• No 52 • www.thechicagocitizen.com
BUSINESS
Weekly
BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP GIVES ACCESS TO CULTURALLY RELEVANT BOOKS +P4
South End
Audit Bureau of Circulation ABC AUDITED
HIDDEN FIGURES HIGHLIGHTS STELLAR ACHIEVEMENTS OF BLACK WOMEN
Member
FOCUSON BLACKHISTORY
By Safiyyah P. Muhammad
Since Hidden Figures hit the box office last December, there is a buzz of excitement in the air from audiences everywhere who’ve flocked to theaters to see the true story of three highly intelligent black women who helped launch John Glenn into orbit. As African Americans celebrate Black History Month, it’s a story fit for people of all ages and races, and is a movie that successfully documents the achievements of black women in the STEM fields. Although a well-kept secret at NASA until now, the story highlights the outstanding achievements black women made in NASA’s space program at the height of the Civil Rights era. The film is about three women employed at NASA, assigned to perform complex mathematics by hand, thus earning the name “human computers.” Katherine Johnson (Taraji Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson, (Janelle Monae) were NASA’s human computers. Their gifted and talented mathematical skills as math geniuses and coders afforded them the ability to calculate by hand, mathematical calculations that dealt with lift-off, propulsion, and trajectories. Reports suggest that dozens of women served as computers during NASA’S space program.
The Juried Art Exhibition features more than 100 dynamic works from AfricanAmerican artists from around the country, including work from a dozen youth artists.
BLACK CREATIVITY EXHIBIT RETURNS TO THE
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY By Monique Smith
The achievements of many African Americans often go unnoticed or recognized by the mainstream. One key component and benefit of the celebration of Black History Month is that corporations, educational, art and cultural institutions highlight the contributions of Blacks in America.
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The 2017 Black Creativity Exhibit and Program is an annual tradition that is in full swing at the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI), 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.The program always kicks off in January on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday with a free Family Day program where all Illinois residents are invited to visit the museum for free.
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CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY CHARLES F. COLEMAN JR. NAMED HARVEST MALE “SWAG MAN OF THE YEAR”+ P6
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