Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures

YA/adult adult herstory
"James Thompson, a twenty-six-year-old cafeteria worker, made
his case in a letter to the Pittsburgh Courier: 'Being an American of
dark complexion, these questions flash through my mind:..."Is the kind
of America I know worth defending?"..."Will colored Americans suffer
still the indignities that have been heaped upon them in the past?"
These and other questions need answering: I want to know, and I
believe every colored American, who is thinking, wants to know.'
What are we fighting for? This was the question asked by many
African Americans in private and in public...They geared up to fight
for their country's future and for their own."
In the summer of 1943 Dorothy Vaughn applied for a laundry
worker job in the military. She was a college educated high school
teacher. The drop in prestige would be accompanied by a raise in
pay. She had four children for whom she wanted the best possible
education. Fortunately she also applied for a job at the Langley
Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, sure this was a pipe dream. Women
and blacks were limited to certain kinds of jobs. She was a black
woman.
Times were changing. The United States military needed more
capable planes right away. Such planes needed to be designed and
tested under a wide range of conditions. All this involved a lot of
math at a time when a lot of men were overseas fighting--therefore,
unavailable. Vaughn's application was in the right place at the right
time.
Proving she could handle the work at a time when a black or
woman had to be twice as good as a white male was only part of the
challenge Vaughn faced. Her workplace was smack dab in the Jim Crow
South where separate but equal was how things were. Bathrooms were
one real area of contention. (Sound familiar?)
Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures tells the stories of
Vaughn and three other pioneering women in her field: Mary Jackson,
Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden. The narrative starts out in
World War II and continues right into the Soviet American space race.
This book is a must read for affecianados of herstory and future
aeronautical engineers.
I chose the young readers edition. Although it's entirely
accessible to its target demographic, it's complex and nuanced enough
for many in the adult adult crowd. I know I found it plenty
interesting and gained knowledge in a field I don't have a lot of
familiarity with.
On a personal note, I had a great Labor Day weekend. Saturday and
Sunday I finished renovating Joey's and my studio. It is now the most
magical, enchanting place cat or woman could occuppy. Just sitting
here fills me with joy and inspiration. Monday Eugene and I went on a
day long drive. We left no flea market, thrift shop, and yard sale
unexplored. I got some really cool stuff like a light up journal,
fancy pens, movies, clothes, and musical snow globes. My favorite buy
was bags of tiny (smaller than my pinky nail) perfect sea shells. We
got subs for lunch.
Community garden continues to go well. We had so many cucumbers I was
able to distribute some in my neighborhood.
And I presented a future op ed in my library writing class. I got
good editing suggestions.
A great big shout out goes out to the guys who still live with me:
Eugene and Joey cat. Also my community garden family and writing group.
jules hathaway


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