niisry made.rsk man engineer.o >> liftoff. we have a liftoff. >> reporter: part of a small group of black women hired as mathematicians at nasa. she was known as one of the human computers at langley. jackson on the far right. her role portrayed in the film "hidden figures" by actress janelle monae. >> if you were a white male, would you wish to be an engineer? >> i wouldn't have to. i'd already be one. >> reporter: jackson became the first black female engineer at nasa in 1958 after being granted special permission to attend class at the then-segregated engineering school. >> i plan on being an engineer at nasa, but i can't do that without taking them classes at that all-white high school. and i can't change the color of my skin. so i have no choice but to be