At the Oscars this weekend, one spotlight will shine on African-American women in the space race, thanks to the movie Hidden Figures , which is nominated for three academy awards, including best picture. Dr. Mae Jemison made history in this field as the first African-American woman in space, as part of the crew on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1992. Jemison tells NPR's Ari Shapiro she welcomes this new interest in women and minorities who broke boundaries in space because those people were previously excluded from the narrative. "Well, I think it's one of those things that really needs to be done," Jemison says. "And this is because people of all types have made contributions across the spectrum of the sciences, across the spectrum of space exploration, and they have been left out many times, purposefully." Interview Highlights On being the first African-American woman in space I always think of it as like, "What do you do with your place at the table?" If you act just like everyone