Quotes from Margot Lee Shetterly

There is so much talent among our young people; I hope the women in 'Hidden Figures' inspire them.

I started to think of 'Hidden Figures' as the first part of a mid-century African-American trilogy.

A lot of times, when you have a story of minorities in America, it's always this super, oppositional thing. It's segregation, it's the racism, and those are the hard facts of the story.

My dad worked at NASA his whole career; he's a research scientist.

My dad worked with Mary Jackson very closely at one point. I knew Katherine Johnson as well. They were all part of this group of black engineers and scientists within this larger NASA community.

I want to keep telling stories of ordinary people.

A lot of times, we talk about black people as if being black is all they are. They get up, go to work... and are as complex and interesting and variable as any other group of people. We don't often capture that or write about it.

I was surprised how little I knew about the significant contributions to aviation that had happened right there in Hampton, Virginia.