March is National Women’s History month. Here’s an example of why we need it. Today the New York Times ran a photo of 38 male scientists at the International Conference on the Biology of Whales held in Virginia in 1971. In the middle of all the men, in the second row, stands a partially obscured black woman. She has an Afro and is wearing a headband.
Ms. Candace Jean Anderson, working on a book about marine mammals, found the picture. All the men were identified, but not the woman. Anderson turned to social media, was helped by the author of the book “Hidden Figures,” and finally found the identity of that lone black woman. She was a museum technician at the time and she was Sheila Minor Huff. She is now retired, a 71-year-old grandmother of five who volunteers at her church and lives in Virginia.
When she retired she was a GS-14 federal employee in the Interior Department. Ms. Huff, when contacted, said “It’s kind of like, no big deal. When I try to do good, when I try and add back to this wonderful earth that we have, when I try to protect it, does it matter that anybody knows my name?”
At a time when Interior Secretary Zinke is doing his best to dismantle our environmental protections, Ms. Huff is truly an inspiration.
You can find the full story in today’s Times. See Jacey Fortin, “She Was the Only Woman in a Photo of 38 Scientists. Now She Has a Name.” p. B4.
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