Inspiring Students with History

Read Time:4 Minute, 49 Second

By Infor, Special for  USDR

 

New York City African-American business leaders, in partnership with 20th Century Fox, Google, Facebook, Infor and AT&T, have launched an initiative to offer free admission to the critically-acclaimed feature, Hidden Figures, for over 25,000 students in New  York.

New York schools are the first to benefit from the project. Like the 2015 project to screen Oscar-winner Selma – which reached 300,000 students across the country – the expectation is that other cities will join this important program as it rolls out in theaters  nationwide.

Hidden Figures is the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)—brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream  big.

The screening program will educate students about the many contributions made by African-Americans to science, technology, engineering, and math, and inspire more students to enter those fields. Charles Phillips, Chairman and CEO of Infor, William M. Lewis, Jr. Co-Chairman of Investment Banking at Lazard, and Ken Chenault, Chairman and CEO of American Express, lead the group of African-American business executives driving the  opportunity.

“On behalf of the African-American business community members involved today, I would like to thank the great organizations that have joined this effort,” said Ken Chenault. “Hidden Figures spotlights our unsung communities’ long lineage of shaping our nation. It serves as a wonderful opportunity to inspire the next generation to carry that torch  forward.”

“I’m deeply moved that my work is being used to educate and inspire students in this way. Programs like this are vital to sharpening our collective memories and enlightening young people about their history and exciting them about their future,” said Margot Lee Shetterly, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller nonfiction book Hidden Figures, on which the film is  based.

The New York Public School System has already signed up for 10,000 tickets. They have been joined by the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), Eagle Academy for Young Men, De La Salle Academy, Harlem School of the Arts, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC, Harlem Children’s Zone, Harlem Village Academy and the East Harlem Tutorial Program. NY Public Library will assist with ticket  distribution.

Dovetailing with this initiative, Google has announced that it will be inviting teenage girls and students to participate in a new online Made With Code project. Participants build an interactive graphic capturing the triumphant themes of the Hidden Figures movie. In partnership with AMC theatres and local school districts, Google will also be hosting coding workshops along with viewing parties of the movie, where students can watch and discuss the film, and learn introductory coding  skills.

Dr. Linda Curtis-Bey, Executive Director of STEM, New York City Public Schools, said: “Hidden Figures provides an important platform from which teachers and students, especially girls, can engage in discussions about STEM, the role of women in the workplace and the contributions of African- Americans.”

In January 2015, New York City African-American business leaders sponsored free tickets for schoolchildren to see the movie Selma – which retold Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery. The project eventually funded free screenings for more than 300,000 students across 28 cities. It resulted in expanded school curricula and special showings at the Abyssinian Baptist Church and other historically important  venues.

New York City business leaders contributing to the  initiative:

  • Amsale Aberra and Neil Brown
  • Scott and Iva Mills
  • Gerald and Gwen Adolph
  • Steve and Beverly Mills
  • Bloomberg Diversity and Inclusion Team
  • Morgan Stanley African American Partners
  • Valentino D. Carlotti
  • Laurence Morse and Pamela McKoin
  • Tony Chase and Dina Alsowayel
  • Adebayo Ogunlesi and Dr. Amelia Quist-Ogunlesi
  • Ken and Kathryn Chenault
  • Clarence Otis and Jacqui Bradley
  • Dr. N. Anthony and Mrs. Robyn Coles
  • Deval and Diane Patrick
  • Edith Cooper and Robert Taylor
  • Luis R. Penalver and Elizabeth Davis
  • Frank Cooper and Nina Whittington-Cooper
  • Charles and Karen Phillips
  • Don and Saundra Cornwell
  • Jonelle Procope and Frederick O. Terrell
  • Ken and Andrea Frazier
  • Tamara Harris Robinson
  • Bruce Gordon and Tawana Tibbs
  • Marva Smalls
  • David and Tammye Jones
  • Jose Tavarez and Holly Phillips, MD.
  • Vernon Jordan
  • Reggie Van Lee
  • Debra Lee
  • Ted and Nina Wells
  • Bill Lewis and Carol Sutton Lewis
  • Greg and Michelle Weston
  • Edward and Carolyn Lewis
  • Anré and Paula Williams
  • Michael and Charise Littlejohn
  • Janice and Chris Williams
  • Tracy Maitland and Kimberly Hatchett
  • Deborah C. Wright
  • Crystal McCrary and Raymond J. McGuire

About Hidden  Figures
Based on a previously untold story, Hidden Figures highlights the achievements of African-American mathematicians and computer scientists in the 1960s. During World War II the aeronautics industry began hiring black female mathematicians to address an acute labor shortage. These pioneering engineers ended up at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory where, in working for NASA, they enabled the U.S. to win the space race. Astronaut John Glenn thought them so critical that he required confirmation of critical orbit calculations from these women before he made his historic trip around the earth. The film is released by Twentieth Century Fox  Film.

About Twentieth Century Fox  Film:
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world.  These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of the studio: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation/Blue Sky  Studios.

SOURCE  Infor

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