Privilege in Hidden Figures

The film Hidden Figures (2016) starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe tells the story of the first Black women to work for NASA. These women were math geniuses and worked as "computers" for the space program. During the film, the Black women faced a lot of discrimination for both their race and gender, thus portraying race privilege and gender privilege.

The Black computers had separate work quarters than the White female computers, as well as separate restroom facilities which was in a completley different building. An excellent scene in the movie is when the boss doesn't even realize that his best computer has been leaving to go to the restroom farther away and that's why it takes her so long, so he walks to the restroom with her and tears down the "colored" sign, thus getting rid of segregated restrooms at NASA.

Another notable example is when one of the computers is denied coffee from the main pot that everyone else is drinking out of. They provide her with a small, rickety coffee press in comparison to the better quality coffee coming from the White pot. At one point later in the movie, Dorothy (Spencer) becomes so frustrated she tells her boss of all these racial injustices that are hindering her from doing her best work. This is when the boss proceeds to rip the colored label off the coffee pot then continues to the restroom as mentioned previously.

Additionlly, Dorothy mentioned how she isn't allowed to wear any jewlery other than pearls, which is what all the White computers wear, but that NASA doesn't pay colored computers enough to afford those pearls. There are plenty of other examples in the film that portray such privileges and injustices.

Hidden Figures provides a beautiful story of friendship, hardship and history. These Black ladies were responsible for putting a man in space, and although they faced difficulties at work due to their race and gender, that didn't steal their joy or undermine their accomplishments in their eyes. They were successful, Black women who worked for NASA!