“Hidden
Figures” has now spent two weeks as the number one movie in the country. And
its story about facing and overcoming bigotry is an important one for any
community that faces discrimination —
including the LGBTQ community.
The events of
“Hidden Figures” echo an anecdote from The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
When a teacher asked him what line of work he wanted to pursue after school, he
said he wanted to be a lawyer. The teacher told him that wasn’t a realistic
line of work for a black man (he didn’t say “black man;” he said a word that is
not repeatable).
How many times
did this happen? How many men and women were denied the chance to pursue their
talents and ambitions? How many lawyers, engineers, scientists, teachers,
political leaders, entrepreneurs, etc. have we missed out on – and continue to
miss out on?
“Hidden
Figures” puts that mindset on display from the start, as Katherine Johnson,
Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson face barrier after barrier that has nothing
to do with their abilities and everything to do with their skin color and
gender.
Many of us in
the LGBTQ community have run into those same barriers of race and gender. And
others of us have come up against homophobia or transphobia barring
the way to our dignity and our dreams.
“Hidden
Figures” shows us how to get around those barriers or, even better, drive right
through them, leaving the path open for others:
Refuse to
accept the status quo. “That’s the way it is.” These women confront that line
repeatedly. But they refuse to accept it. Mary Jackson goes to court to attend
classes at a segregated school so she can become an aerospace engineer. Dorothy
Vaughn goes into the “whites only” section of the public library to find the
book on Fortran she needs to learn to run the new IBM computer. They refuse to
accept “the way it is.”
Attack even the
smallest injustices. When Katherine Johnson is asked about her frequent absences
during the day, she points out that there is only one bathroom for
African-American women in the entire Langley base — and it takes her 40 minutes
to go and come back. That small fact, presented to someone who probably had
never even thought about that reality, leads to the integration of the
bathrooms at Langley. Confronting a small injustice leads to a big victory.
Make it
impossible to be ignored. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson
were all able to break through prejudices by being the best at what they did —
and that made them impossible to be ignored or belittled. Be the best you can
be at your chosen profession. Be loud and proud and aggressive in fighting for
your rights. Live your life openly and freely. Make them hear and see you.
Fighting
bigotry isn’t just about passing laws. It’s about changing hearts, minds, and
attitudes. That’s hard, long work. It takes years, perhaps generations. But it
can be done. “Hidden Figures” shows us one of the paths to victory.
SOURCE: LGBTQ NATION
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