Pioneering Women: Leaders and Trailblazers, Sponsored by the Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership, Texas Woman's University – serie

From the creation of the Manned Spacecraft Center to the launching of the International Space Station and beyond, Making Space for Women explores how careers for women at Johnson Space Center have changed over the past fifty years as the workforce became more diverse and fields once closed to women—the astronaut corps and flight control—began to open. Jennifer M. Ross-Nazzal has selected twenty-one interviews conducted for the NASA Oral History Projects, including those with astronauts, mathematicians, engineers, secretaries, scientists, trainers, managers, and more. The women featured not only discuss leadership, teamwork, and the experiences of being “the first,” but reveal how the role of the working woman in a predominantly white, male, technical agency has evolved.The narratives highlight the societal and cultural changes these women witnessed and the lessons they learned as they pursued different career paths. Among those included are Joan E. Higginbotham, mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery; Natalie V. Saiz, first female director of the Human Resource Office; Kathryn Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space; Estella HernÁndez Gillette, the deputy director of the center’s External Relations Office; and Carolyn Huntoon, the first woman director of the Johnson Space Center.Making Space for Women offers a unique view of the history of human spaceflight while also providing a broader understanding of changes in American culture, society, industry, and life for women in the space program. The women featured in this book demonstrate that there are no boundaries or limits to a career at NASA for those who choose to seize the opportunity.

August 18, 2020, marked the centennial of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In 1920, women wearing yellow roses stood shoulder to shoulder in Tennessee, awaiting the roll call of men who would cast their votes for or against a woman’s right to a voice in government. Though this movement won rights for some women—an achievement to be acknowledged and celebrated—the struggle did not end there. Due to states’ laws and prohibitive policies, many women of color were unable to exercise their rights after the Nineteenth Amendment. It was not until much later that all American women were given the same privilege. In A Yellow Rose Project: Responses, Reflections, and Reactions to the Nineteenth Amendment, editors Meg Griffiths and Frances Jakubek have invited 106 female photographers to look back upon this part of history from various perspectives. The goal of this collaboration is to provide a focal point and physical platform for female image makers in light of the centennial, providing an artistic bridge connecting the past, present, and future. Opening with essays by Lisa Volpe, curator of photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Shannon Perich, curator in the photographic history collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; Christina Bejarano, professor of political science at Texas Woman’s University; and Rachel Michelle Gunter, public historian, this work affords readers a multifaceted perspective, celebrating progress made and assessing all that remains to be done.

In 1964, the task of racial desegregation of public schools hung over the country. In Denton, North Texas town, a remarkable alliance transcended racial divides, ignited a city-wide grassroots civil rights movement. Denton Women's Interracial Fellowship: Leading a Texas City's Desegregation by Annetta Ramsay is a vital historical account chronicling the extraordinary journey of courageous Black and White women. Driven by a shared desire to prepare their children for desegregation, the women forme the Denton Women's Interracial Fellowship.While media outlets focused daily on the violence of White men against Black men, Denton's Black and White women challenged entrenched systemic oppression to advocate for racial equality. Despite pervasive animosity and violence directed toward Black individuals by some within the White community, the women's influence radiated throughout every corner of the city. For twenty-five years, their moral compass signaled that racism would not be tolerated.Working toward achieving civil rights transformed these women; they became leaders. Positions of power within the group segued into pivotal political and community roles. Fellowship members solved community problems, tutored students, registered voters, and tirelessly worked to break down Denton's segregation. Denton Women's Interracial Fellowship provides a testament to the transformative power of grassroots organization. Boundless possibilities arise when individuals unite to pursue a more just and equitable society.