1619 - 2019: Commemorating 400 Years of African American History
Signals: National Events Broadcast on Campus
Throughout the year, the Library will carry live-streaming events and webcasts on the big screen, enabling our students and community to hear directly from notable figures.
These events may be in real-time or be a recording of a live event.
“In Conversation with the Librarian of Congress: Hidden Figures” featuring Margot Lee Shetterly and Donna Gigliotti
In Conversation with the Librarian of Congress: Hidden Figures featuring Margot Lee Shetterly and Donna Gigliotti
Margot Lee Shetterly "is the author of Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race and the founder of the Human Computer Project where she is recovering the names and accomplishments of all of the women who worked as computers, mathematicians, scientists and engineers at the NACA and NASA between 1930 through the 1980s. While best known for the book and movie, she continues her groundbreaking research that is re-writing history and giving credit to those that were disenfranchised because of racial inequities." - from Epoch Education The Hampton, Virginia, native and University of Virginia graduate is also the founder of the Human Computer Project, an endeavor that is recovering the names and accomplishments of all the women who worked as computers, mathematicians, scientists and engineers at NASA and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics from the 1930s through the 1980s."
Donna Gigliotti was a producer of the Academy Award nominated film “Hidden Figures,” based upon Shetterly’s book. Gigliotti is one of only nine women to win an Academy Award for best picture. She received her fourth Oscar nomination in 2017 for producing “Hidden Figures,” after winning her first in 1998 for producing “Shakespeare in Love.” She currently serves as President of Tempesta Films, a production company based in New York. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the European Film Academy and the Producers Guild of America.
Event Date and Locations
This live event occurs March 14, 2019 beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Palatka Campus Library, room L-219C
St. Augustine Campus Library, room L-112
Orange Park Campus, Building D, room D-14
The Library of Congress will be captioning this event in real time.
Resources for Further Exploration
Resources at the SJR State Library
Books may be checked out by community patrons as well as SJR State students faculty and staff. If a title is located at another campus, the book may be sent to another campus upon request.
Please note: eBooks are only accessible to currently registered SJR State students, faculty, and staff via MySJRstate due to licensing restrictions. DVDs may only be checked-out to current SJR State students, faculty, or staff.
Hidden Figures by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- QA27.5 .L44 2016
St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- QA27.5 .L44 2016ISBN: 9780062363596Publication Date: 2016-09-06"Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as 'human computers' used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call, moving to Hampton, Virginia, and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley's all-black 'West Computing' group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens" - publisher's description
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Children's Books -- QA27.5 .L44 2018ISBN: 9780062742469Publication Date: 2018-01-16"Explores the previously uncelebrated but pivotal contributions of NASA's African American women mathematicians to America's space program, describing how Jim Crow laws segregated them despite their groundbreaking successes. Includes biographies on Dorothy Jackson Vaughan (1910-2008), Mary Winston Jackson (1921-2005), Katherine Colman Goble Johnson (1918-), Dr. Christine Mann Darden (1942-)." - publisher's description- Hidden Figures DVDCall Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Audio-Visual -- PN1997 Hidden_ Figures DVD
St. Johns River/Palatka Audio-Visual -- PN1997 Hidden F54 2017 DVD
St. Johns River/Orange Park Audio-Visual -- PN1997 HiddenFig 2017 DVDISBN: 024543275336
Celebration • Education • Reflection
H.R.1242/Public Law 115-102, the 400 Years of African American History Commission Act, establishes 2019 as a year of "commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Africans in the English colonies, at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619." The commemoration is intended “to recognize and highlight the resilience and contributions of African-Americans since 1619; to acknowledge the impact that slavery and laws that enforced racial discrimination had on the United States; and to educate the public about the arrival of Africans in the United States; and the contributions of African-Americans to the United States.” In recognition of this commemoration and with the Act serving as a guide, the SJR State Library has organized a year-long series of events that will provide educational experiences and resources to students and the community that celebrate the history and culture of African Americans.
Site created and maintained by Dr. Christina Will. Pages will be added and maintained throughout 2019.
Maintenance will cease at the end of 2019 but this site will remain accessible.