Chicago girl pens letter to ‘Hidden Figures’ author, wins award from Library Of Congress

By NewsOne

A young Black aspiring astronaut from Chicago recently received a huge honor from the Library of Congress. After penning a letter to Margot Lee Shetterly—the woman who wrote the book that inspired the Hidden Figures movie—10-year-old Akosua Haynes won first place in the federal institution’s national writing contest, the Chicago Tribune reported.

In the letter Haynes detailed how reading the book Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race influenced her choice to become a NASA astronaut when she gets older, the news outlet writes. She wrote the note as part of the Library of Congress’ writing contest which encourages youth to pen letters to authors who inspire them. Haynes’ letter was chosen out of 47,000 submissions. The fifth-grader—who attends Hyde Park’s St. Thomas the Apostle School—took home the prize for the fourth- through sixth-grade division.

Read more at https://newsone.com/3807925/akosua-haynes-hidden-figures-library-of-congress/

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