By Linda Herridge
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center
The Kennedy Space Center workforce celebrated Black History Month with a special event on Feb. 18, 2020, in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building Mission Briefing Room. Organized by the Black Employee Strategy Team (BEST), one of the center’s employee resource groups, this year’s theme was “African Americans and the Vote.”
It is the 150th anniversary of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This amendment prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” It was ratified on Feb. 3, 1870, as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments.
It also is the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This legislation granted women the right to vote, a right known as women’s suffrage. It was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, effective on Aug.6, 1965, is considered a landmark piece of federal legislation. It was signed into law by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The act secured the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South.
The keynote speaker at the event was James Jennings, former NASA associate administrator for Institutions and Management and Kennedy’s former deputy director.
“It’s always a pleasure to be invited back home,” Jennings said. “The BEST employee resource group has accomplished a lot at Kennedy.”
Jennings talked about being a mentor and noted that several of those he mentored were in the room. “We must be a bridge for our youth,” Jennings said. “Mentoring is very important. It’s an opportunity to see someone’s capabilities and abilities and help him or her along.”
He offered workers some tips on being successful in the workplace:
Don’t’ take anything for granted.
Don’t be lazy. Be proud of your work.
Don’t assume a door is closed.
Keep improving your mind.
Set goals and work toward them.
Worry about attitude rather than aptitude.
Choose your friends wisely.
Practice what you preach.
Be a job creator.
Don’t be afraid to take a risk, or of failure.
Jennings offered additional words of wisdom:
See it through when meeting a challenge.
The future is a door. Don’t live in the past.
Be the best you can be.
Be persistent.
He also encouraged workers: “We can be full partners in the American dream. Get involved politically and vote.
“And the most important advice I can give you is treat everyone with respect,” Jennings said. “There is no such thing as a perfect person.”
Center Director Bob Cabana stopped by to visit with attendees and greet Jennings. “We are a Kennedy team, we are all working together,” Cabana said.
“In our program, we try to highlight African Americans who have made a direct impact on the Kennedy workforce,” said Martin Hayes, BEST chairperson. “We also try to educate the broader workforce about the challenges their non-white counterparts have historically faced.”
In closing, Kelvin Manning, Kennedy associate director, technical, said that people like Jennings made it easier for people like him to follow in his footsteps.
“It’s an exciting time to be in the space program,” Manning said. “The opportunities are there for all of us.”