This is the story of the first Black women computers to work at NASA, an untold story in the history of America.  This book left me wanting more-should’ve been at least 700 pages.  But it did desire me to research more about Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson and Christine Darden.

Yes, they were called computers, mostly women, that did the calculations, with pencil, paper and slide rulers of, first, aerodynamics that maximized the flight of war planes, and second, the numbers that would launch men orbiting into space then landing on the moon.

Like I said, it was common for women to be these computers so there wasn’t too much a fuss when these Black women were brought on board.  In fact, during the war, they advertised in the Black community for women to assist in the war effort.  It wasn’t until their promotions into management and engineers that the effects of racism was truly felt (not that there weren’t any from the offset with ‘colored only’ signs, etc.).

They were the first.  And with that knowledge came the resilience that we see in so many first of Blacks integrating American society.  Done with the determination that failure is not an option so many can succeed in their footsteps.

Read more about Katherine Johnson

What stood out is that Russia’s launch of Sputnik fueled integration.  America was in the midst of Brown v. Board, Rosa Parks and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement.  In other words, it was slow footing on equal rights for Blacks.  But America wanted to win this race war so “hmmm, maybe these blacks can help.”

And help we did.  And thanks to these four trailblazers, we orbited, landed on the moon and launched America into space.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *