finally tonight, hidden no longer. mary w. jackson was born and raised in hampton, virginia. she was an engineer and a pioneer. >> liftoff, we have a liftoff. >> part of a small group of black women hired as mathematicians at nasa. helping america win the space race. she was known as one of the human computers at langley. there they are in the front row, jackson on the far right. her role portrayed in the film "hidden figures" by actress janelle monáe. >> if you were a white male, would you wish to be an engineer? >> i wouldn't have to. i'd already be one. >> jackson became the first black female engineer at nasa in 1958. she had to be granted special permission to attend class at the then-segregated engineering school.