Hidden Figures

Study Guide by Course Hero

Shetterly narrates Hidden Figures in the past tense.

What's Inside
ABOUT THE TITLE
Hidden Figures refers to the women of NACA/NASA who
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 worked in the shadows as human computers, unrecognized for
their valuable contributions to aeronautic and aerospace
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 research. It also refers to the labyrinth of numbers, equations,
and formulas they processed. They are the unseen foundation
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3
for the nation's technological advances.
h Characters .................................................................................................. 4

k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 7

c Chapter Summaries .............................................................................. 13

d In Context
g Quotes ........................................................................................................ 33

l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 35
Civil Rights Movement
m Themes ...................................................................................................... 36 The civil rights movement began in America as a mass protest
movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the
South during the 1950s and 1960s. Although slavery had been
abolished after the end of the American Civil War (1861–65),
j Book Basics African Americans still endured racial oppression, segregation,
and discrimination a century later, because of lasting Jim Crow
laws dictating that African Americans were not allowed to
AUTHOR
inhabit the same public places as whites. In 1896 the Supreme
Margot Lee Shetterly
Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but equal"
YEAR PUBLISHED facilities complied with the 14th Amendment, yet it did not
2016 acknowledge that many facilities designated for African
Americans were inferior to white facilities. In 1909 the African
GENRE American writer W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) and other African
History, Women's Studies American leaders such as lawyer Thurgood Marshall (1908–93;
associate justice of the Supreme Court 1967–91) joined with
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR
like-minded white leaders to form the National Association for
Hidden Figures is narrated in the third person. Told from the
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which sparked
perspective of a historian, it weaves the stories of four
early civil rights efforts. The NAACP gained support when the
remarkable African American women into the larger tapestry of
Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that segregation in public schools
historical events from World War II through the Cold War, the
was unconstitutional. In the early 1950s the prevailing strategy
Civil Rights Movement, and the Space Race.
of the civil rights movement was nonviolent protest, which led
TENSE to the eventual passage of laws in 1964 and 1965 of major civil
Hidden Figures Study Guide In Context 2

rights legislation. The legislation included the Civil Rights Act of off rockets. In October 1957 the Soviets sent into orbit the first
1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned artificial satellite, Sputnik. Americans, feeling the pressure,
employment discrimination based on race, religion, or gender. launched the satellite Explorer I the next year. Both countries
It also included the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which decreased were able to place a man in Earth's orbit over the next few
the legal barriers that many African Americans faced when years. But in 1960 U.S. president John F. Kennedy (1917–63)
exercising their right to vote. set the goal even higher. He vowed that America would put a
man on the Moon within the decade, and in 1969 the United
During World War II (1939–45) the grip of Jim Crow laws and States sent three astronauts to the Moon, two of whom, Neil
racial segregation was weakened by the American war effort. Armstrong (1930–2012) and Buzz Aldrin (b. 1930), walked on
The ever-growing demand for workers on the home front its surface.
opened the door of opportunity to women and African
Americans, especially in the aeronautics and defense industry. The Cold War, the space race, and expanding scientific
This is where author Margot Lee Shetterly (b. 1969) begins research changed the role of Langley Research Center—the
Hidden Figures (2016). The book chronicles the lives of four aeronautics facility featured in Hidden Figures—in America's
black female professionals hired to work as human computers defense industry. Research projects now focused on missile
at NASA's Langley Research Center, near Hampton, Virginia. technology and the potential for manned spaceflight. During
Their stories intertwine with and reflect the nation's social and this period, the injustice of segregation collides with American
political struggle with racism, segregation, and inequality. ideals that drove the Cold War conflict.
Opportunity for these women was marred by prejudice and
exclusion. This was still the American South, with Jim Crow As chronicled in Hidden Figures, a new wave of black female

laws in full force. Yet they persevered, determined to fight and mathematicians entered Langley's workforce following World

to rise, with dignity and pride, as far as their talent and hard War II. However, segregation remained an obstacle to their

work could take them. advancement and the achievement of their full potential. In this,
their stories were not unique among African Americans of the
time. Yet, public and government support for desegregation

Cold War and the Space Race and civil rights legislation was gaining momentum. There was
growing awareness of the hypocrisy of fighting the spread of
communist oppression while ignoring the oppression of
After World War II the United States and the Soviet Union
segregation at home. The Soviets' successful launch of
(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR) were the two
Sputnik was the jolt the nation needed. Americans, especially
dominant—and opposing—world powers. Tensions between
those in the scientific community, awoke to the need to tap
the two nations were primarily ideological. The United States
every intellectual resource available in the country. The nation
was certain that democracy, capitalism, and free speech were
could no longer afford to deny an entire segment of society full
the traits of a superior culture. The Soviet Union came down on
participation in its ambitions and objectives. This was added
the side of communism and government control of both
incentive for the movement to end segregation.
commerce and speech. This nonviolent rivalry and hostility
between the ideologies of American democracy and Soviet
communism was called the Cold War (1947–62). One way this
tension played out was the proliferation of nuclear weapons, NACA, Langley, and the
which had been used by the United States to end World War II
but were being developed by the Soviet Union as well. Both "Human Computers"
sides knew that starting a nuclear war was potentially a recipe
for human extinction. Yet each side was unwilling to fall behind In 1917 the first civilian aeronautical laboratory was founded

in the stockpiling of these powerful weapons of mass under the umbrella government agency NACA, the National

destruction. Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Established in 1915, the

NACA's objective was to advance U.S. airplane technology,
The Cold War was fought in the realm of scientific investigation which had lagged behind that of Europe. Its specific mission
as well, particularly in the exploration of space. In a frenzy of was to coordinate aeronautic research being conducted
innovation and ambitious experimentation, both countries fired nationwide. In a few years that advisory role expanded to

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Author Biography 3

include hands-on flight tests as the NACA's own engineers and Growing up, Shetterly was surrounded by black scientists and
scientists began working to improve the aerodynamics of engineers—a concentration of accomplished professionals,
aircraft. When the agency created its own civilian testing many of them women, who had successfully navigated
facility, the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, the segregation in the South. This association would provide her
need for technicians and professional staff grew. with rare insights into the early days of American aeronautics
and space exploration, as well as invaluable connections to the
Among these professionals were human computers—women scientists and events featured in her first book, Hidden Figures
hired and trained to process research data. The computers (2016). But before becoming a writer, Shetterly first set her
received raw data from Langley's wind tunnels and research sights on working on Wall Street.
divisions that had to be read, calculated, analyzed, and plotted
on graph paper—a time-consuming but essential process
requiring great accuracy. The work was done by hand. A
human computer's tools were a mechanical calculator for
Writing Career
simple math computation, mathematical curves for plotting
Shetterly was in her 20s when she achieved her goal. Living in
movement, a magnifying glass, and a slide rule. With a staff of
New York and working for investment banking powerhouses
competent computers, engineers who had originally done this
J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch were exciting for a time. Then in
work could focus their expertise on other aspects of testing
the 1990s she discovered her entrepreneurial spirit and
and research.
gravitated toward Internet-related start-up ventures. Through

The entry of the United States into World War II sparked a hard work and trial and error, Shetterly gathered personal and

dramatic expansion of Langley's computer pool. Nationwide, professional skills that prepared her for a writing career that

men left their jobs to join the military, while on the home front, would propel her to fame.

women joined the workforce in support of the war effort. At

In 2005 Shetterly moved to Mexico City with her husband,
Langley women were actively recruited to meet the growing
writer and narrative historian Aran Shetterly. Here they
demand for computers. This opened the door of opportunity to
launched Inside Mexico, an independently published magazine.
African American women, many of whom would advance and
Then in 2010, while on a visit to Shetterly's hometown, her
build remarkable careers in the field of aeronautical research.
father reminisced about his days at Langley Research Center.
Among these gifted professionals were Dorothy Vaughan
Aran was fascinated by his stories of the women—the human
(1910–2008), Katherine Johnson (1918–2020), Mary Jackson
computers—employed at Langley and their valuable
(1921–2005), and Christine Darden (b. 1942)—the four African
contributions to NASA's space program. His interest awakened
American computers featured in Hidden Figures. Collectively,
Shetterly to the fact that their crucial role, in particular the role
their careers spanned decades of research, testing,
of black women, was largely unknown and unsung. Soon after,
progressive designs, and astonishing leaps in engineering that
she began researching and writing Hidden Figures.
propelled aeronautics into the modern Space Age.

Legacy
a Author Biography
Shetterly's extensive research covered a span of three
decades and focused on the lives of four remarkable African

Early Life and Influences American human computers. In the course of her research
Shetterly recognized the need to chronicle the contributions of
all the women who worked as mathematicians for the NACA
Writer and researcher Margot Lee Shetterly was born June 30,
(National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) and then NASA
1969, in Hampton, Virginia. Shetterly's father, Robert Benjamin
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Supported
Lee III, was an atmospheric research scientist at NASA
by research grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and
Langley, and her mother was an English professor at Hampton
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, she launched the
University.
Human Computer Project in 2014—an ongoing project to find

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Characters 4

every female mathematician and engineer and to create a first black supervisor. She holds this position for nearly a
permanent historical record of their work. decade, until the NACA transitions to NASA and segregated
West Computing is dissolved.
Even before Shetterly had delivered her completed manuscript
of Hidden Figures, Hollywood was busy adapting it to film. The
result was a crowd-pleasing condensation of the book
released in theaters in 2016. In addition to earning three
Mary Jackson
Academy Award nominations, the film Hidden Figures won a
Mary Winston Jackson, a native of Hampton, Virginia,
broad range of awards from nationally and internationally
graduates from Hampton Institute with degrees in math and
recognized film, music, and critics associations.
physical sciences in 1942. As Cold War tensions increase, the

Shetterly's book became a New York Times bestseller. It also NACA doubles its workforce, and in 1951 Jackson joins West

won the 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Area Computing at Langley. Two years later she is invited to

Work–Nonfiction; the 2017 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award; and the work with an engineering team conducting research in

2019 Coretta Scott King Book Award. In 2018 Shetterly Langley's first large supersonic wind tunnel. She is inspired to

published a picture book based on Hidden Figures. take graduate courses in math and physics that will allow her a
promotion to engineer. In 1958, in an era when female
engineers are a rarity, Jackson becomes the first black female

h Characters
engineer at NASA.

Christine Darden
Katherine Johnson
In 1957 Christine Mann (married name Christine Darden) is a
Early in life, research mathematician Katherine Goble Johnson senior at North Carolina's Allen School for girls when the
exhibits exceptional intelligence and a gift for numbers. Soviet Union launches Sputnik. She is inspired to use "her
Graduating with highest honors from West Virginia State knack for numbers and all things analytical" to pursue a degree
College in 1937, she devotes herself to teaching and raising a in the sciences at Hampton Institute, Virginia. In 1967 she
family before going to work at Langley in 1953. West Area begins work at Langley Research Center as a data analyst.
Computing is under the direction of Dorothy Vaughan, who While the field of computing has gained respect over the years,
soon assigns Johnson to a branch of the Flight Research she wants to do more than crunch numbers. She wants to be
Division, where she serves with distinction. When the NACA an engineer. Hard work, knowledge, and confidence to ask for
becomes NASA and the space race heats up, Johnson the job earn Darden that position, and her rise to the top
becomes part of the Space Task Group and is key to the begins.
success of Project Apollo's first lunar landing in 1969.

Dorothy Vaughan
Dorothy Vaughan is among the pioneers at NASA who pave
the way for its future diversity in the leadership and workforce.
In 1943, at the height of World War II (1939–45) Vaughan—a
wife, mother, mathematician, and math teacher—is recruited to
work as a human computer at Langley Memorial Aeronautical
Laboratory. Though federal law has desegregated the defense
industry, Jim Crow laws still relegate black mathematicians to
the segregated West Area Computing unit. In 1949 Vaughan is
promoted to lead West Computing, making her the NACA's

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Characters 5

Character Map

Katherine Johnson
Most recognized NASA
human computer
Most trusted
computer

John Glenn Mary Jackson

Astronaut and first Supervisor First black female
American to orbit Earth engineer at NASA

Computer,
colleague
Dorothy Vaughan
First black American
supervisor at NASA
Head
computer

Langley
pioneer
Virginia Tucker Christine Darden
First female computer Top female aerospace
supervisor at NACA Langley engineer at NASA

Langley
manager
Henry Reid
Director at the NACA
and NASA Langley
for 34 years

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Characters 6

Full Character List Doris Cohen (dates unknown) is a

mathematician at the Langley Memorial
Aeronautical Laboratory. Author of nine
published research reports, she is the
Character Description
Doris Cohen NACA's first female author. This and her
contributions to aeronautical research
Mathematician Katherine Johnson open the way for women at the NACA
(1918–2020), married name Katherine like Katherine Johnson to be recognized
Goble, joins the West Area Computing by name for their own contributions.
Katherine group at NACA Langley Memorial
Johnson Aeronautical Laboratory in 1953. She
Kazimierz "Kaz" Czarnecki (1916–2005),
plays a key role in Project Apollo and is
an assistant section head in the Four-​by-
the most recognized NASA human
Four-​Foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel,
computer.
Kazimierz offers Mary Jackson a position as a
Czarnecki computer on his research team.
Mathematician and math teacher Dorothy Recognizing her engineering potential, he
Vaughan (1910–2008) is recruited to join acts as her mentor as she becomes the
Dorothy West Computing at NACA Langley first black female engineer at NASA.
Vaughan Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in
1943. She becomes NASA's first African
John Glenn (1921–2016) is a Project
American supervisor.
Mercury astronaut, a former Marine test
John Glenn
pilot, and the first American to orbit
Mathematician and aerospace engineer Earth.
Mary Jackson (1921–2005) joins the
Mary
NACA West Area Computing group in
Jackson Margery Hannah (dates unknown) is a
1951. She becomes the first black female
Margery former white East Area Computer who
engineer at NASA.
Hannah serves as West Computing Section's first
supervisor.
Mathematician Christine Darden née
Mann (b. 1942) joins the human-​computer
Christine Dorothy Hoover (1918–2000) is among
pool at NASA's Langley Research Center
Darden the first black female mathematicians
in 1967. She becomes NASA's top
hired at Langley during World War II. With
aerospace engineer.
intelligence, hard work, and
Dorothy
perseverance, Hoover rises to achieve
Hoover
Melvin Butler (1917–96) is the personnel the highest level in theoretical
officer at NACA's Langley Memorial aeronautical research, paving the way for
Aeronautical Laboratory during its World ambitious, capable mathematicians like
Melvin Mary Jackson.
War II expansion. He opens up
Butler
employment in the computer pool to
black female mathematicians. He serves
In 1940, Malcolm MacLean (1893–1977)
with NACA/NASA until retirement in 1975.
becomes president of Hampton Institute
in Virginia, one of the nation's oldest
Virginia's Senator Harry Byrd educational institutions for African
Malcolm
(1887–1966) calls for massive Southern Americans. He strongly advocates for
MacLean
Senator resistance to the landmark 1954 participation of African Americans and
Harry Byrd Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of other minorities in national defense,
Education, which desegregated public believing segregation to be an enormous
school in the United States. waste of brains and ability.

Miriam Mann (1907–67) joins the West

Computing Section in 1943 and remains
at Langley after World War II. Mann
Miriam
wages a private war with the "Colored"
Mann
cafeteria sign marking the table where
women from West Computing are
required to sit.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Plot Summary 7

Asa Philip Randolph (1889–1979) is head

of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Women Join the Team
Porters, the largest black labor union in
Asa Philip Hidden Figures opens at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical
the United States. In 1941 he convinces
Randolph
President Roosevelt to desegregate the Laboratory, the nation's first civilian aeronautical research
defense industry and "open lucrative war
facility. Founded in Hampton, Virginia, as a division of the
jobs to Negro applicants."
NACA, the laboratory's expanding role in national defense
provided women in general the opportunity to play an integral
Henry Reid (1895–1968) is an engineer
and director of the NACA Langley role in the rapidly growing field of aeronautics research. They
Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory during entered the workforce as "human computers": skilled
World War II. He oversees expansion of mathematicians who analyzed test data. This was a crucial
Henry Reid
the laboratory, including the computer
pool. He continues to serve as director of step in research, development, and refinement of new
the Langley Research Center following technologies that required patience and flawless accuracy. As
the creation of NASA. more advanced technologies developed in the fields of
aerospace and mechanical computers, the women kept pace,
Franklin D. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) is training to program new electronic computers, and moving out
Roosevelt the 32nd president of the United States.
of the computer pool into engineering.

Blanche Sponsler (sometimes called In events spanning 25 years, the women's lives and
Blanche Sponsler Fitchett) replaced achievements play out against the changing political and
Margery Hannah as head of West
Computing Section at Langley in 1947. societal backdrops of World War II, the Cold War, the civil
Blanche
Within two years she suffered mental rights movement, and America's race to the Moon. Of the four
Sponsler
illness and died, leaving the position open featured women, mathematician and teacher Dorothy Vaughan
for Dorothy Vaughan to step in and
become the first black supervisor at is first to be recruited to Langley. Like all black computers, she
NASA. goes to work in West Area Computing. Hard work,
perseverance, and a knack for numbers secure Dorothy
Virginia Tucker (1909–85) is Langley Vaughan a place at the laboratory after the war ends. At the
Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory's head height of her career she becomes NASA's first African
computer and runs Langley's entire
Virginia American supervisor.
computing operation. She helps
Tucker
"transform the position of computer ...
into one of the laboratory's most valuable
assets."
Breaking Ground
Charles "Chuck" Yeager (b. 1923) is a U.S.
Vaughan and her peers break ground for a new wave of female
Air Force pilot who fought in World War II.
In 1947, as a test pilot, he became the professionals like Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson. Mary
Chuck
first human to fly faster than the speed of Jackson is a gifted mathematician who joins the NACA West
Yeager
sound. He broke the sound barrier while
Area Computing group in 1951. In an era when female
piloting the X-​1, a rocket-​powered
research aircraft. engineers are a rarity, she rises to become NASA's first black
female aerospace engineer. Katherine Johnson joins the West
Area Computing group in 1953, where her exceptional skill with
numbers is soon recognized. When the space race heats up,
k Plot Summary she is assigned to NASA's Space Task Group and makes
invaluable contributions to Project Apollo's success. Katherine
Johnson is the most recognized NASA human computer.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Plot Summary 8

An Abiding Legacy
Over the years Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine
Johnson contribute to extraordinary technological advances in
aeronautics and aerospace technology. Their achievements
are both a catalyst and a monument to the political and social
changes that topple two barriers to success: race and gender.
They help reshape the professional world that Christine
Darden (b. 1942) enters in 1967 as part of Langley's human-
computer pool. Darden becomes NASA's top aerospace
engineer.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Plot Summary 9

Plot Diagram

Climax

11

10
12
9
Falling Action

Rising Action 8
13
7

6 14
5
15
4
Resolution
3

2
1

Introduction

race.
Introduction
7. Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson join West Computing.

1. The NACA begins recruiting women for a computing pool. 8. The Soviet Union launches the first manmade satellite.

9. A Soviet cosmonaut becomes the first person to orbit Earth.

10. John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth.

Rising Action

2. Production of war airplanes is ramped up to 50,000 per

year. Climax
3. Black female mathematicians are recruited to be
computers. 11. America's Apollo 11 carries the first humans to the Moon.

4. Dorothy Vaughan begins computer work at Langley.

5. The NACA's B-9 Superfortress drops an atomic bomb on Falling Action

Japan.

12. The space race has been won, with America triumphant.
6. WWII ends and the Cold War begins, igniting the space

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Plot Summary 10

13. NASA shifts priorities and downsizes its space program.

14. NASA women continue breaking down race and gender

barriers.

Resolution

15. A new generation builds on the legacy of the West

computers.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Plot Summary 11

Timeline of Events

May 1943

The first five black female mathematicians go to work at

Langley as human computers.

December 1, 1943

Dorothy Vaughan begins work as a computer at Langley.

August 6, 1945

The B-9 Superfortress plane developed by the NACA

delivers an atomic bomb to Japan.

August 15, 1945

V-J Day (Victory over Japan) signals the end of World

War II.

1947

Langley buys an electronic calculator able to solve

equations 16 times faster than human computers.

October 14, 1947

American test pilot Chuck Yeager breaks the sound

barrier in the Bell X-1 rocket plane.

July 1948

President Truman's Executive Order 9981 desegregates

the military.

April 1949

Dorothy Vaughan is appointed acting head of West

Computing at Langley.

April 1951

Mary Jackson joins the West Computing group.

June 1953

Katherine Johnson (married name Katherine Goble) joins

the West Computing group.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Plot Summary 12

1954

The U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. the Board of

Education desegregates public schools.

October 4, 1957

The Soviet Union successfully launches Sputnik, the first

manmade satellite.

October 1958

The Space Act merges into NASA all the U.S.

government agencies vying to lead the space effort.

April 12, 1961

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human

in space and first to orbit Earth.

February 20, 1962

Astronaut John Glenn becomes the first American to

orbit Earth.

January 27, 1967

An electrical fire destroys Apollo 1 during a preflight test,

killing three astronauts.

July 19, 1969

Apollo 11 spacecraft is launched, carrying the first people

to step foot on the Moon.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 13

the door to employment at Langley in the early 1940s, five

c Chapter Summaries courageous and talented black female mathematicians took
advantage of the opportunity. Their work and success at
Introductory sections and chapters of this text have been Langley, which was still segregated, paved the way for the next
combined in pairs for the purpose of summary and analysis. wave of black hires and their successors.

The black female mathematicians worked as human

Author's Note–Prologue computers, processing test data for Langley. Like their white
female counterparts, they worked in the shadows,
unrecognized for their valuable contributions to aeronautics
research. Having stumbled upon the hidden story of these
Summary computers, Shetterly determined to bring it out into the light.
Believing the existence and talent of these women should
"never again be lost to history," she resolved to add their
Author's Note stories to "the grand, sweeping narrative" of the American epic.
They are the women mathematicians who happened to be
Author Margot Lee Shetterly explains that language that used
black and the black mathematicians who happened to be
to refer to women and African Americans in Hidden Figures
women who helped America "dominate aeronautics, space
reflects the time period in which events take place.
research, and computer technology."

Prologue
Analysis
Author Margot Lee Shetterly describes the 2010 visit to her
The author's note expresses Shetterly's sensitivity to the
hometown of Hampton, Virginia, that inspired her to write
aversion readers may have to words like Negro, colored, Indian,
Hidden Figures. While spending a few days with her mother
or girls used in Hidden Figures. Language changes over time,
and father, she is awakened to the contributions black female
reflecting shifting associations and sensitivities to certain
mathematicians made to aeronautics and aerospace research
words. A widely used term may gradually take on a negative
at Langley Research Center, located in Hampton. Her father
connotation and fall out of fashion. The new term in time may
had been an engineer at this research arm of NASA for 40
take on the same negativity, primarily because the concept
years. Though he started at Langley in 1964, he knew many of
behind the word has not changed. It is the concept to which
the African American women employed as human computers
the negativity is attached. On the other hand, changes in terms
during and after World War II.
can reflect progress as people strive to find words and
Growing up, Shetterly was unaware of the social and economic phrases that describe others with respect, impartiality, and
challenges African Americans had faced in the segregated acceptance. During the era in which the events in Hidden
South before federal law ended segregation and Jim Crow Figures take place, the words Negro, girls, and such were in
racist policies. Her Southern hometown of Hampton was vogue and used by blacks and whites alike. While they reflect
populated by successful black engineers, mathematicians, certain attitudes, Shetterly does not reproduce them in the
technologists, professors, lawyers, dentists, and other book to be disrespectful.
professionals. Shetterly's father retired from NASA "an
The prologue explains how Shetterly discovers the stories of
internationally respected climate scientist." In her experience
black women's contributions to aeronautic and aerospace
pursuing careers in science, math, and engineering was "just
research and development. She begins to see their lives and
what black folks did." Her father's reminiscences and some
careers as bright and significant threads integral to the
initial interviews with other retired Langley employees opened
tapestry of 20th-century American history. Shetterly's
Shetterly's eyes, as an adult, to a different reality.
ignorance of their stories is both disappointing and
In the segregated South doors to professional careers were encouraging. It is disappointing that the women's contributions
largely closed to blacks. When the federal government opened have been largely unacknowledged and undocumented. It is

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 14

encouraging that the impact of their lives and careers did Since 1935 mathematicians at Langley have been mostly
change the face of science—to the point where it seemed to women. Known as "computers," they have proven better than
Shetterly growing up in Virginia that "the face of science was engineers at computing. To keep pace with Langley's growing
brown," like hers. As she experienced it, working in science, involvement in national defense, more mathematicians are
math, and engineering is "just what black folks did." Through needed in the computer pool. With America's involvement in
her research and her writing, she discovers and reproduces World War II, men are fighting, and women have stepped in to
the world as it was when the first black female mathematicians take their places. As a result, by 1943 the labor market is
went to Langley. She reveals how those gifted, determined stretched thin.
women helped change that world.
Two years earlier an activist named Asa Philip Randolph
created a path for labor that could address the shortage of

Chapters 1–2 workers. Randolph headed the largest black labor union in
America. He used his influence to persuade Roosevelt to issue
Executive Orders 8802 and 9346. The first ordered the
desegregation of the defense industry; the second created the
Summary Fair Employment Practices Committee.

Consequently, in 1943 applications of qualified black female

Chapter 1: A Door Opens candidates begin to reach Langley's personnel staff. The
applicants are qualified, experienced, and hired. Yet, the head
Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory is "the oldest of personnel, Melvin Butler, knows the women will need a
outpost of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics segregated space to work.
(NACA)." It is a civilian agency tasked with "advancing the
scientific understanding of aeronautics" and distributing this
information to the military and private industry. Every Chapter 2: Mobilization
experiment conducted by Langley's engineers has "real-world
implications." Dorothy Vaughan is among the Negro women who work in
Camp Pickett's laundry boiler plant during the summer of 1943.
By May 1943 the United States is embroiled in World War II. Camp Pickett, Virginia, is the basic training camp for soldiers.
Demand for personnel to handle work at the lab has tripled. The women process 18,000 bundles of laundry each week.
The operation at Langley now runs three shifts a day, six days Invisible yet invaluable, the women earn $0.40 per hour—less
a week. Three years earlier, in a move to strengthen national than all other war workers.
defense, President Roosevelt called for increased production
of airplanes to 50,000 a year. By 1943 America's aircraft That summer Vaughan is 32 years old, intelligent and well
industry is surpassing the president's mark. educated, a math teacher, and a wife with four children. Her
home is in Farmville, Virginia, where she teaches at Robert
Airplanes during World War II are used for transportation of Russa Moton, the Negro high school. Howard, her husband, is
troops and supplies, for aerial pursuit of the enemy, and for an itinerant bellman at luxury hotels. While the school is closed
launching ship-sinking bombs. The speed and safety of the for the summer, Vaughan willingly works the summer job at
machines are in the hands of Langley's engineers, who Camp Pickett to earn extra money for her children's future
tirelessly test and refine the design and structure of planes. education, which she knows they will need as a bulwark
Wind-tunnel tests and test flights conducted at the agency against a world that will require more of them and attempt to
reveal flaws. Test results are captured in numbers that are give them less in return because they are black.
then analyzed. Improvements are recommended. Accurate
processing of the numbers is critical to this process and When Vaughan had applied for this summer job in the spring,
requires mathematicians who can interpret the flow of she also had applied for a war job at Langley Memorial
numerical data coming from wind-tunnel tests and other Aeronautical Laboratory. Black newspapers had been
research. encouraging readers to submit their applications for such jobs,
touting President Roosevelt's executive orders desegregating

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 15

the defense industry and creating the Fair Employment

Practices Committee. Vaughan recognizes that a job in the Chapters 3–4
aeronautical laboratory means stepping out of the sphere of
work typically open to blacks and into a whole new world of
opportunity. Summary

Analysis Chapter 3: Past Is Prologue

In Chapter 1 after explaining the genesis and purpose of NACA The 1943 school year begins at Farmville's Robert Russa
Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, author Margot Lee Moton High School. Dorothy Vaughan and her 12 fellow
Shetterly explains why black laborers, in particular women, teachers welcome 301 students to the overcrowded facility.
were added to the defense industry workforce in the 1940s. Vaughan will be teaching arithmetic and algebra in the
President Roosevelt's call for increased airplane production, auditorium alongside two other classes. In addition to teaching,
America's involvement in World War II, the shortage of men to she will tutor struggling students after school, work with the
fill jobs, the thinning ranks of white women workers, and Asa school choir, and participate in community support for the war
Philip Randolph's influence in Washington, D.C., all converge in effort.
1943. The political, social, and practical needs of a nation at
war open the doors of the defense industry to anyone who can Her life abruptly changes with an acceptance letter from

do the job. This is a crack in the wall of racial discrimination Langley, where she has been appointed mathematician, Grade

and Jim Crow laws that have gripped the South since the P-1, at pay more than twice her current salary. While this is

1870s and robbed the country of a rich human resource: black what she hoped for, the civil-service appointment means

Americans, who are waiting to fully participate in American relocating to Newport News, Virginia, and leaving behind her

democracy. Within the wartime government and defense home, her job, her extended family, and her children. She takes

industry, segregation, with its deep roots in the past, now must comfort in the knowledge that her children will be surrounded

take a back seat to the urgent needs of the present. by caring family and neighbors.

At Langley employing Negroes presents some logistical Dorothy's husband, Howard, travels a great deal in his career

problems for Melvin Butler. Despite federal desegregation as an itinerant bellman. She is unsure what affect her new job

laws, Jim Crow laws still dictate the social separation of blacks will have on the marriage. She has supported his unusual

and whites in the workplace. Butler will need to establish career, even accompanying him in 1942 to White Sulphur

separate workspaces for the new black employees. Springs, West Virginia, where he worked at the Greenbrier. An

Fortunately for Butler, segregation will prove less important enormous, white-columned resort in peacetime, Greenbrier

than the needs of the laboratory for most of its employees, functioned as a prisoner-of-war camp for German and

black and white. And neither he nor the black female Japanese detainees.

mathematicians he hires have an inkling that this move will end

During this time Vaughan and the children befriended Joshua
at the Moon. No one predicts the technological, social, and
and Joylette Coleman, residents of White Sulphur Springs.
cultural transformations that the next few decades will bring.
Among their four children was a grown daughter named

Chapter 2 introduces Dorothy Vaughan and how she is drawn Katherine (Katherine Johnson). In 1940 Johnson's superior

into the work at Langley. Intelligent, highly educated, a teacher, intelligence and gift for mathematics had earned her admission

and concerned for her children, Vaughan is also ambitious and to a university to pursue a graduate degree. In summer 1940

ready for a challenge. Recognizing that the "Negro's ladder to she had entered the newly integrated West Virginia University.

the American dream" is missing rungs, she values education However, she chose not to complete the graduate program,

above all else as a bulwark against economic uncertainty. She choosing instead "a life as a full-time wife and mother."

is not too proud to work hard at a menial job if it means the

Fifteen years earlier Vaughan had similarly set aside her own
future will be securer.
ambitions. Now, a second chance is opening up for her—a

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 16

chance "to unleash her professional potential." Eventually, looked for a double victory: over America's enemies from
Johnson will follow the same path "down the road to Newport without and over the enemies within: those "who perpetrate
News" to meet her destiny at Langley. these ugly prejudices" that will "destroy our democratic form of
government."

Chapter 4: The Double V

Analysis
Newport News is a city near the Hampton Roads harbor.
Located near Hampton, Virginia, home of Langley Memorial As the title "Past Is Prologue" suggests, the past was
Aeronautical Laboratory, the city is where Dorothy Vaughan preparation for the opportunity that will unleash Dorothy
and thousands of other war workers will be housed. It is a Vaughan's potential. She had assumed the die of her life had
wartime boomtown; "a powerful military capital," in which the been cast when she gave up a scholarship to study math at
war operates around the clock. To address the housing Howard University. Now, all that is about to change. Also in
shortage caused by the explosion in civilian population, the city keeping with the title, the chapter introduces Katherine
features "the world's largest defense housing project," located Johnson, whose participation in aeronautical research at
in the East End of Newport News. The housing is segregated; Langley will not begin for many years. The pattern of her life
Newsome Park houses 1,200 blacks, and Copeland Park mirrors Vaughan's. She is gifted with numbers, achieves
houses 4,000 whites. Vaughan rents a room in a home on the scholastic recognition, and sets aside her ambitions to be a
periphery of Newsome Park. wife and raise children. The lives of the two women intersect
briefly in 1942 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. This is
In Newport News, as in all other Southern cities, the lines of
prologue for the time when Vaughan will welcome Johnson to
segregation separating whites from blacks are everywhere.
West Area Computing and, for a brief period, be her
Problems arise most frequently on buses and trolleys, now
supervisor.
overcrowded with employees coming and going to their war
jobs, 24 hours a day; 6 days a week. Necessity often requires Chapter 3 also describes the substandard conditions of
breaking rules that were designed to keep the races separate. Farmville's Russa Moton High School, where Vaughan works.
This and the general pressure of daily life in Newport News As the school year begins, 301 students crowd into a school
and other boomtowns across the country steadily push racial designed for 180 students. There are only eight classrooms
tensions toward a breaking point. and no cafeteria, gymnasium, or student lockers. The students
and their parents are hungry for the education that can provide
In January 1941 President Roosevelt told the American people
some measure of security in the segregated South.
in his State of the Union address, "Men of every creed and
Overcrowded, underfunded, segregated schools like Russa
every race, wherever they lived in the world" are entitled to
Moton are emblematic of the inefficient system created by Jim
freedom of speech and worship and freedom from want and
Crow laws and the "separate but equal" doctrine behind them.
fear. The president then committed the United States to
Often the result was inadequate funding for all schools in a
defeating the dictators who would rob people of these
region.
freedoms. While blacks agree with these sentiments and are
horrified by the brutal treatment of Jews by Nazi Germany, Jim Crow laws and segregation are on full display in the
they cannot help comparing it to their own decades-long battle Chapter 4 description of Newport News and Hampton, Virginia,
against institutionalized discrimination. The contradiction especially in transportation and housing. The segregated
between the American ideals driving the war effort and the conditions illustrate the dilemma facing black Americans: at a
ongoing injustice of segregation in America cannot be ignored. time when their country needs them and calls upon their
Some blacks wonder if they should fight for their country and, patriotism, it still insists on a dividing line that violates their
if so, what they will be fighting for. basic rights to freedom and equality—the ideals driving
America's participation in World War II. Their answer to the
Even so, the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor was a
question "What are we fighting for?" is to turn their country's
rallying cry. Across the nation blacks "geared up to fight, for
need into an opportunity to wage war and win on two fronts:
their country's future and for their own." With optimism they
for their country and for their race.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 17

defiance Miriam Mann, a black computer, launches a private

Chapters 5–6 war with the unseen hands that placed the sign on that table.
She hides the first sign and thereafter hides its replacements
every time they appear.
Summary
There are whites among Langley's executives and
employees—especially the engineers from northern and

Chapter 5: Manifest Destiny western states—who defy Southern conventions and stand up
to prejudice. Their main concern is whether a person can do
On Dorothy Vaughan's first day at Langley Memorial the job and do it well. The West computers understand that
Aeronautical Laboratory, she boards the Langley shuttle bus these "were the ones who had the power to break down the
for the laboratory's West Area. The West Area occupies the barriers that existed at Langley."
grounds of several old plantations now owned by the federal
government. A forested back road connects the area with the
rest of Langley's campus. In addition to a collection of two-
Chapter 6: War Birds
story brick buildings, there is a 16-foot-high speed tunnel for
Around the country readers of black newspapers are following
research tests. Vaughan is assigned to the Warehouse
the heroic achievements of the Tuskegee airmen. These
Building, where she will be "engaged in aeronautical research
outstanding black pilots embody the Double V objectives.
at its most granular level," helping to answer the question,
Dubbed "Tan Yanks" by the black press, airmen of the 332nd
"What makes things fly?" All the human computers in the
Fighter Group are eventually assigned P-51 Mustang planes,
Warehouse Building office where she works are female, and
considered "the best plane in the world." Assuring that these
they are black. The white female computers are assigned to
planes let the men do their job and return safely home is now
the East Area.
the full-time job of Dorothy Vaughan and the other West Area
Many of the women with whom Vaughan will work are computers. New aerodynamic concepts and their application
graduates of Hampton Institute's Engineering for Women are being discovered and developed at a breathtaking pace.
training classes. Others come from farther afield, and like For their part the computers are being trained in engineering
Vaughan, many bring years of teaching to the job. The head of physics, with courses in the fundamental theory of
her section is Margery Hannah, formerly an East Aria aerodynamics and hands-on training in one of the lab's wind
computer. Hannah reports to Virginia Tucker, the head tunnels. Their teachers are the laboratory's most talented
computer in charge of Langley's entire computer operation. physicists.

Langley is the NACA's flagship laboratory. Two additional In the early days of flight, progress was slow and dangerous. It
research laboratories have been established at Moffett Field, was built on "disciplined experimentation, rigorous
California, (1939) and Cleveland, Ohio (1940). Working mathematics, insight, and luck." Planes were conceived of in
together, they scramble to keep up with America's rapidly theory, built, and tested. If the inventor and researcher did not
expanding aircraft industry, which by 1943 is at the top of the die in the process, what he learned was applied to the next
industry. The course of events has made it clear that the war is attempt. Out of this grew the professions of aeronautical
"being fought in the laboratories as well as on the battlefields." engineer and test pilot. Test pilots risked their lives pushing an
Through research, military aircraft are becoming "as powerful, airplane to its limits to identify how it could be improved. Wind
safe, and efficient as possible." Good minds and highly tunnels were a step forward in safety, providing "the research
specialized skills have made this possible. benefits of flight tests but without the danger." They allowed
researchers to closely observe how air flowed around full-
Langley employees are "a mélange of black and white, male sized and scale-model planes. At Langley a variety of wind
and female, blue-collar and white-collar workers." Yet racial tunnels was constructed to test different combinations of
divisions are clearly marked by the separated working spaces, "pressure, velocity, and dimension."
the "Colored girls" bathrooms, and signs in the cafeteria
designating where "Colored Computers" may sit. In an act of
Computers like Dorothy Vaughan are expected to master the

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 18

mathematics for figuring how closely the performance of a defer to the state laws that keep them "in their separate place."
wind tunnel comes to mimicking actual flight. These figures are
then used to build wind tunnels that simulate real-world Chapter 6 traces the evolution of research at Langley from the

conditions, which is key to the NACA's success. Langley's early days of flight, when researchers risked their lives to test

talented engineers then gather raw data from wind-tunnel their theories, through the era of aeronautical engineers and

tests. This raw data is sent to computers for analysis. test pilots and the use of wind tunnels. Author Shetterly
stresses the critical nature of a human computer's work in
Among the planes the NACA develops and refines is the B-29 designing war planes that will let fighter pilots do their job and
Superfortress, capable of "flying farther, faster, and with a bring them home safely. The women are immersed in
heavier bomb load than any plane in history." It delivers the engineering physics and the fundamental theory of
atomic bombs to Japan on August 6 and August 9, 1945. aerodynamics, as well as hands-on training in Langley's wind
tunnels. They are part of a larger team conducting disciplined
experimentation. And their work is making a difference in the
Analysis outcome of the war. From this perspective they are
participating fully in America's fight and proving the time has
Chapter 5 provides an overview of Langley Memorial come for blacks to receive full rights.
Aeronautical Laboratory: its physical organization, workforce
structure and hierarchy, and the campus and office culture, as
well as the importance of aeronautical research to the war Chapters 7–8
effort and success. It also sketches out Langley's specific
contributions to advances in aeronautics that are helping win
the war, like the SBD Dauntless dive bomber that helped win
the Battle of Midway in June 1942. As Dorothy Vaughan soon
Summary
learns through her work, an airplane is "a terrifically complex
bundle of physics that could be tweaked to serve the needs of
different situations." Their designs can be refined through
Chapter 7: The Duration
research and testing, taking them from good to great. With
Since her employment began at Langley, Dorothy Vaughan has
research, engineers and human computers have analyzed,
been commuting to Farmville to visit her children. In July 1944
refined, and transformed the Dauntless—a previously unreliable
she decides to change her status in Newport News from
prototype—into a formidable weapon and decisive force at
temporary to permanent resident. She rents a new two-
Midway, one of America's most important naval victories in the
bedroom apartment in Newport News and brings her four
Pacific. The effectiveness of NACA Langley's research
children to live with her. Now she and her children are on a new
methods is further evidenced by the fact that, at the peak of
path forward. However, it is a path to which Howard Vaughan
World War II, "every single American military airplane in
cannot adjust. The marriage falls into limbo, remaining there
production was based ... upon research results and
until his death.
recommendations of the NACA." This is largely thanks to the
unheralded human computers who analyzed the data, The war emergency has transformed southeastern Virginia,
crunched the numbers, and plotted the results for engineers to replacing vast forested spaces with roads, bridges, boatyards,
utilize. military bases, hospitals, and housing developments. Newport
News is a war boomtown reflecting these changes. When V-J
While advances in aeronautics leap ahead, race relations within
Day (Victory over Japan) comes at last on August 15, 1945,
Langley progress more slowly. The door has opened on
jubilant people everywhere in America pour into the streets
opportunities for black female mathematicians. Langley has
and fill the bars and USO clubs for a night-long celebration.
invited them into the workforce, selecting them for their
Many make their way into churches to give thanks and to pray
intellectual talents. Nevertheless, the women are reminded
this war will be the last. Then, the following week layoffs begin
daily of their "otherness" by "Colored" signs marking
as employment shrinks to adjust to a peacetime economy.
bathrooms and tables in the cafeteria. The signs are proof that
Returning servicemen are expecting to resume jobs held by
federal laws paving the way for them to work at Langley still

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 19

women during the war. "Reconversion" is the watchword of the Katherine Johnson's alma mater, for help in selecting three
day, suggesting reversal of the wartime changes that have West Virginia College graduates. Johnson was among those
transformed American life. chosen, and she enrolled in West Virginia University in summer
1940. However, by the end of the session she was pregnant.
Vaughan's future at Langley is as uncertain as the future of the Johnson left the graduate program and took up life as wife and
neighborhood she lives in. Newsome Park, like next-door mother—a decision she never regretted.
Copeland Park for whites, is mandated to be torn down once
the war ends. Even so, she and others have built new lives
there during the war, gambling that the social and economic Analysis
changes that made it possible will last.
Endings and beginnings are highlighted in Chapter 7. World
War II officially ends with V-J Day, and then begins the African
Chapter 8: Those Who Move Forward American struggle to retain the employment progress they
have enjoyed during the war. "Reconversion" threatens the
Katherine Johnson is the youngest daughter of Joshua and
return of "white, Gentile-only employment policies." Virginia
Joylette Coleman. She and her three siblings grew up on the
Democratic senator Harry Byrd vehemently opposes the
Coleman farm in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, until
policies of the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC).
Joshua moved the family to a rented house near West Virginia
He focuses the forces of his powerful political machine behind
State Institute. There, his four children could receive a quality
efforts to subvert the social progress and economic gains
education at the institute's laboratory school.
made by blacks during the war. Senator Byrd is emblematic of
To supplement the shrinking income from his farm, Joshua those on one side of the battle. On the other are "the generals
Coleman took a job as a bellman at the Greenbrier resort. of the Negroes' war" preparing for the next offensive. Their
Some years later he met Howard Vaughan and his wife, next victory—desegregation of the Armed Forces (1948)—will
Dorothy, there. At that time Greenbrier was the most exclusive have far reaching effects on defense industry jobs.
resort in the country, frequented by the richest and most
As for Langley's black female computers in 1945, they had
famous.
turned a corner in their lives during the war and do not intend
In 1933 Johnson entered West Virginia State College—an to backtrack. The war may have ended, but the jobs, housing,
historically black state university. She was 15. Thanks to the relationships, and routines that "had been cut out of the whole
college president, Dr. John W. Davis, the institution had a solid cloth of the war emergency" are now woven into their lives.
academic reputation and had attracted highly qualified They are prepared to move forward, and only forward, in the
professors from around the country, including Dr. William postwar world. For her part Dorothy Vaughan gambles that the
Waldron Schieffelin Claytor, a gifted and respected social and economic progress brought about by the conflict
mathematician. will continue.

Dr. Claytor quickly recognized Johnson's aptitude for Chapter 8 reintroduces Katherine Johnson, filling in her
mathematics and foresaw a future for her in mathematical backstory and tracing her first steps toward Langley.
research. Yet, in the 1930s, even with a college degree in Johnson's academic history reflects progress in the civil rights
mathematics, Johnson's chances of landing a job as a movement. Her outstanding academic performance in
professional mathematician were almost zero. She took a mathematics at West Virginia State College has little impact on
teaching job instead in Marion, Virginia. While living in Marion, her career options. After graduation she slips into the
she met and quietly married Jimmy Goble, a black physicist expected slot of teacher. In 1940, however, she is offered a
and mathematician. chance to join a first attempt to integrate all-white West
Virginia University. Two years earlier the Supreme Court's
Following the 1938 Supreme Court case aimed at dismantling Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1938) decision made it
the system of segregation in American schools, Governor mandatory that states allow black students to attend
Homer Holt of West Virginia moved to desegregate the state's educational programs at a "white only" university when the
public graduate schools. He turned to Dr. Davis, president of state fails to provide a matching program at a black university.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 20

Johnson registers for the university's graduate program in tasks set before them. Their work grows in scope and
math. importance. Computing pools are attached to a specific tunnel
or engineer group, allowing them "to specialize in a particular
She cannot complete the program and has no thoughts of a subfield of aeronautics." This specialization becomes more
career as a research mathematician. Nevertheless, in necessary as aeronautic research becomes more complex. It
Hampton, Virginia, Dorothy Vaughan and others like her are is also an important step to professional advancement and
busy proving that female research mathematicians have a public recognition of their contributions to research projects.
bright future beyond the war, in American aeronautics.
For Vaughn advancement comes as the East Computing
section gradually empties. The white women advance, move on
Chapters 9–10 to other labs, or return to their roles at home. All new
computing assignments are rerouted to West Computing. In
1947 a new section head replaces arrives: Blanche Sponsler.

Summary However, she dies unexpectedly, and Vaughn is promoted to

replace her. In 1949 she becomes the NACA's first black
manager and one of a few who are female.

Chapter 9: Breaking Barriers

Following the war Dorothy Vaughan is building a life in Newport
Chapter 10: Home by the Sea
News with no intentions of leaving. She has a network of
Mary Jackson is 26 when she joins Langley's West Computing
friends and colleagues. Her relationship with her husband has
group in April 1951. She grew up in Hampton Roads and
settled into a pattern of intermittent visits. By 1947 they have
remembers when it was a prewar agrarian hamlet. She is a
two more children.
graduate of Hampton Institute. The school's philosophy mirrors
the aspirations and philosophy of the surrounding black
Hampton Roads, Virginia's coastal region, which includes
community: "Negro advancement through self-help and
Newport News and Langley, is "on the cusp of a defense
practical and industrial training." Jackson majored in both
industry boom" that will last decades. Norfolk Naval Base,
mathematics and physical science. During the war she worked
across the bay from Newport News, has been designated the
with Hampton's King Street USO, managing its financial
permanent headquarters of the navy's air command. Shipyards
accounts, welcoming guests, helping military families and
along the coast are still going strong. In addition to the region's
defense workers find housing, and organizing community
military installations, there is an Army Transportation School
activities. Her involvement reflects the values of her entire
and a U.S. Coast Guard base. Langley Field (adjacent to the
family: service to the community, religious devotion, and
research lab) is headquarters of the army's Tactical Air
humanitarianism.
Command. Hampton Roads now is the embodiment of the
military industrial complex that will be vital during the coming
In Jackson's personal philosophy, dark skin, gender, and
Cold War.
economic status are not excuses for reining in imagination and
ambition. Her expectations for herself are high. In January 1951
Though some downsizing occurs at Langley after the war,
she applies for "a clerical position with the army and as a
talented human computers like Vaughn are considered a
computer at Langley."
valuable resource. In 1946 she accepts permanent Civil Service
employment. Most of the West human computers likewise
Tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States have
keep their jobs, a new future stretching out before them. But
intensified. The Soviets successfully detonated a nuclear
with few role models to follow, they will have to figure out for
device in 1949. War broke out between Soviet-backed North
themselves how to advance "as a woman in a profession that
Korea and American-backed South Korea in 1950. MiG-15s, the
was built by men."
Soviet Union's new near-supersonic fighter planes have
attacked American B-29s in the skies over Korea. Back home
Progress is slow but does occur as women prove themselves
in the states, the NACA has been benefitting from the
eminently capable of meeting the demands of the computing

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 21

increased international tensions. Congress has doubled its One breakthrough point is the postwar focus on research to
agency-wide employment levels. Jackson is among the able break the speed of sound. Advances in propulsion, namely the
mathematicians hired to be NACA computers. Her supervisor turbojet, and high-speed wing concepts have enabled plane
will be Dorothy Vaughan. speed to hit the speed of sound, called Mach 1. It is a physical
limit past which scientists speculate a plane and its pilot could
With advances in aerodynamics, experimental planes have not survive. During Mojave Desert tests of the X-1 experimental
breached the sound barrier. Researchers at the NACA now research plane, human computers step into the role of junior
seek to use what has been learned "to design military engineer, clearing the path for others. While X-1 test pilot
production aircraft capable of supersonic flight." All Chuck Yeager is breaking the sound barrier, the women are
information relating to research and testing is classified. breaking the gender barrier.
Security tightens as the Cold War feeds fears of communist
infiltration of the country. Back at Langley, mathematician Doris Cohen achieves another
breakthrough for women. Over the course of several years she
In 1951 the political and social climate in which Mary Jackson has published nine reports "documenting experiments
begins her work at Langley is evolving. For some time political conducted at the frontier of high-speed aeronautical research."
pressure to dismantle segregation has been mounting as She is the NACA's first female author, and authoring a report
America's anti-communist, anti-oppression ideals are seen to means she was an important member of a research team.
clash with its domestic policy that enforce segregation at
home. America's inability to solve its racial problem has been East computers have found it easier than their black
the most effective propaganda weapon wielded by the Soviet counterparts to move out into the laboratory, closer to the
Union. In 1948, to ease the pressure, President Harry Truman research. Nevertheless, West computers begin breaking down
desegregated the military and made it mandatory for the heads this barrier, as well. They are invited to join engineer groups,
of federal departments to keep the workplace free of and some even have a shot at a research job. They are given
discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion, or national the chance to prove themselves to be the right person for the
origin." Agencies like Langley are required to integrate formerly job, which, at Langley, is what matters most.
segregated work units, such as the West Area computers, into
nonsegregated units. Chapter 10 introduces Mary Jackson, another Langley success
story. Her family has deep Hampton roots, and her presence at
Langley is a rebuke to the "short-sighted intolerance" that has
Analysis ruled Virginia since "the iron curtain of Jim Crow segregation
descended across the southern United States." All her life she
Chapters 9 and 10 highlight the professional barriers of gender has refused to let skin color, gender, or economic status limit
and race being broken at Langley as all of Hampton Roads her ambition. She is prepared to take advantage of the
gears up for the coming Cold War. This progress moves in changing times.
lockstep with technological breakthroughs as airplanes break
The chapter also illustrates the changes that have occurred in
the sound barrier.
Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the country as a whole during
In the past female computers, black and white, have worked and since the end of World War II. Jackson's memories of
largely in ignorance of the real-life application of their prewar Newport News contrast with the vision of a military
calculations. They have also worked without public industrial complex that the region has become. Politically, the
acknowledgment of their contributions. It has been assumed Cold War casts a shadow over the country still recovering from
that, being women, they lacked the desire for professional World War II. Pressure mounts to confront the issue of race.
recognition. As technology becomes more complex, and The effect of President Truman's desegregation of the military
female computers begin to specialize in assorted aeronautic begins to defuse the problem of race as a weapon for Soviet
subfields, they move out of the computer pool and closer to propaganda. And it removes race as a barrier to promotions at
the actual research. Soon, they can break the professional Langley.
barrier of anonymity.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 22

disagrees with the numbers. She checks and insists that her
Chapters 11–12 calculations are correct. After some back-and-forth over the
data Becker discovers he gave Jackson the wrong numbers to
begin with. He apologizes, and her "independence of mind and
Summary strength of personality" to defend her work earns her the
respect generally awarded to promising male engineers. It is a
turning point in her career.
Chapter 11: The Area Rule
While federal law now requires segregated units to be Chapter 12: Serendipity
integrated, West Area and East Area computers remain
separate in their work. The exception to this is during intense In 1952 family members urge Katherine Johnson (married
periods, when work on the East Side exceeds the available name Katherine Goble) and her husband, Jimmy, to move with
hands. Then West Side supervisor Dorothy Vaughan is asked their three girls to Newport News, Virginia. It means leaving
to send over black computers. their home and teaching jobs in Bluefield, West Virginia. But
there is plenty of work to be had—at the shipyards for Jimmy
Two years after Mary Jackson joins West Computing, Vaughan and at Langley for Katherine. The idea of new, better paying
sends her to the shorthanded East Side to work with the white jobs and the chance for Johnson to use her mathematics skills
computers. The work goes well until Jackson asks to be are enticing. The family makes the move.
directed to the bathroom. The women laugh at the idea that
they would know where the "colored bathrooms" are. The Within a year they have become part of Newport News's "large
blatant racism behind their laughter is a reminder that in their and dynamic black community." Jimmy has a well-paid job in
eyes Jackson is not good enough to use a white bathroom nor the shipyards as a painter. Katherine's application for Langley
worthy of a respectful answer. It reduces her "from is approved; work will begin in June 1953. In the meantime, she
professional mathematician to a second-class human being." works as a substitute math teacher and builds a strong social
network within the community.
Learning of the situation, Kazimierz Czarnecki, the assistant
section head in the Four-Foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, Regardless of their credentials or experience, women start at
suggests Jackson come work in his division. She accepts. Langley as level 3 subprofessionals. Johnson is no different.
She reports to Dorothy Vaughan and works at a desk for two
Since the 1940s Langley has continually invested in new and weeks, learning the ropes. Then, she is assigned to an
upgraded facilities on the campus's West Side. The resulting engineering group in the Flight Research Laboratory on a
research breakthroughs now are impacting the nature of the temporary basis. Inside a huge hanger, not far from West
assignments Vaughan hands out to her staff. Practical and Computing, Johnson finds the lab, slips inside, and takes a seat
theoretical engineering provides a challenge embraced by in a cubicle, where an engineer is working. The man abruptly
computers like Mary Jackson. With her background in math gets up and leaves, and she is left wondering if she has broken
and physics, she understands "the physical phenomena behind some rule of protocol or if her mere presence drove him away.
the calculations" she works on. Even so, as a woman there is a
gender barrier she first must break before being considered In contrast to the clear-cut "caste rules" outside Langley, inside
"as someone who should move ahead." the rules are fuzzy. In the legal and social pursuit of integration,
Langley is a "racial relations laboratory," where both blacks and
Mary Jackson quietly and firmly takes a step that shows she is whites are "treading new ground together." Johnson
"a smart mathematician ... able to contribute more than just understands she has a choice: She can take offense, assuming
calculations" to the Four-by-Four-Foot Supersonic Pressure it was her presence that motivated the engineer to leave. Or
Tunnel research division to which she is now assigned. John she can assume he "simply finished his work and moved on."
Becker heads the division and is revered as an engineer. He She chooses the latter, and within two weeks it no longer
gives Jackson her assignment and instructions for working matters. When the man discovers Johnson is a fellow
through the calculations. When Becker reviews her output, he transplant from West Virginia, the two become fast friends.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 23

seemingly rude engineer, Johnson weighs her possible

Analysis responses before giving him the benefit of the doubt. Her
response stems from a belief in treating others as she wishes
Events in Chapter 11 expose the lingering racist attitudes at
to be treated. And, as time proves, the decision paves the way
Langley that taint professional relationships. It also chronicles
to a lasting friendship.
Mary Jackson's move from West Computing to a research
tunnel that tests her math and physics expertise, as well as her
character.
Chapters 13–14
The title "Area Rule" refers to a formula for tweaking the shape
of an airplane's fuselage to decrease wind drag during flight,
thus increasing speed without increasing power. New wind Summary
tunnels demonstrate these subtle but effective improvements
in design. The Area Rule is representative of the "sheltered
unexplored corners" of aeronautical knowledge waiting to be Chapter 13: Turbulence
explored—practical solutions to be found for making planes
safer and faster. After six months Katherine Johnson's temporary assignment in
the Flight Research Division becomes permanent thanks to
Mary Jackson's background in math and physics is tailor-made
Dorothy Vaughan, who negotiates the promotion. The
for a position working with engineers in the Four-by-Four-Foot
engineers with whom Johnson works are more than happy to
Supersonic Pressure Tunnel. Her transfer to the group is
have her.
fortuitous, even if the reason for it is not. Though legal
segregation has been abolished, the racial barriers remain in Within the Flight Research Division Johnson is assigned to the
the guise of "Colored" bathrooms and the derisive laughter of Maneuver Loads Branch. Here, research focuses on forces on
her white colleagues. The "proximity to professional equality" an airplane as it moves in and out of stable, steady flight. While
that Jackson has experienced before the incident gives it an supersonic and hypersonic experimental planes benefit from
enduring sting. this research, it also applies to transportation planes. One line
of investigation involves safety concerns. Among Johnson's
Similarly, some gender barriers remain to be breached—by all
first assignments is one to discover the cause of an accident in
women. Author Shetterly illustrates this with the story of
which a small Piper propeller plane inexplicably fell out of the
James Williams, a black engineer and former Tuskegee airman.
sky. Her job is to study, analyze, and plot the data supplied by
When he accepts a job at Langley, not everyone among his
the plane's flight recorder, to give engineers "a visual snapshot
peers is enthusiastic about the new black recruit. Nevertheless,
of the plane's disrupted flight." Engineers then "set up an
no one prevents Williams from assuming the role and title of
experiment re-creating the circumstances of the accident."
engineer. Unlike a woman, he can take that step for granted.
This gender bias that keeps engineering off limits to women The test reveals that a jet flying a path perpendicular to the
makes Mary Jackson's decisive victory in her intellectual Piper had left behind a wake of turbulent air that had acted like
skirmish with John Becker all the more significant. She proves a tripwire when the Piper passed through it. The propeller
she not only can do the math but has the confidence to defend plane stalled midair and plummeted. The discovery leads to
her work—a necessary quality in the domain of engineers. changes in air traffic regulations that establish safe distances
Clearly, she has what it takes to move ahead at Langley. between flight paths.

Chapter 12 brings Katherine Johnson to Langley. Like Jackson, Johnson is proud of her part in this work and has grown to like
she encounters lingering racism. Shetterly stresses that for her smart, high-energy colleagues. She feels at home in
whites, segregation is "shape-shifting" from "racism and blatant Langley and refuses to let persistent racial segregation
discrimination" to something softer and often the result of circumscribe her movements or her thoughts. She uses the
ignorance and thoughtlessness. For blacks integration is a whites-only bathroom and snubs the segregated cafeteria by
source of insecurity as they adjust to "unfamiliar language and eating at her desk. Her intelligence, confidence, and
customs of an integrated life." In her encounter with the exuberance for the work earn her the liking and respect of the

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 24

engineers. School, they are denied entrance.

In a while Katherine and Jimmy can move the family to a World Langley is less likely to squander intellect because of skin
War II neighborhood in Hampton where they buy a home. color. Kazimierz Czarnecki, the engineer who invited Mary
Homeownership is a dream come true, until Jimmy falls ill with Jackson to join his section, soon recognizes that she has "the
an inoperable brain tumor and dies five days before Christmas soul of an engineer" and the skill to succeed as such. He
1956. Though reeling from her loss and grief, Katherine keeps suggests that she enroll in the laboratory's engineer training
her daughters on the path she and Jimmy had paved for them. program. Though she now has a sponsor, being a black
In their children Katherine sees the legacy of generations past woman, she must clear the first hurdle on her own: gaining
who have "pushed their energy and resources to the limits to permission to enter whites-only Hampton High School, where
lift their progeny toward the American dream." the classes will be held. Jackson appears before the school
board, determined that nothing will stand in the way of her
pursuit of an engineering career. Permission is granted, and
Chapter 14: Angle of Attack she begins her coursework in the spring of 1956.

In the 1950s inanimate computers begin to redefine the

technological frontier. As aeronautical research advances, it Analysis
becomes increasingly complex. Processing research data is
ever more time-consuming. A new machine is necessary to Chapter 14 explores several problems and solutions relative to
keep pace with progress. advances in aeronautical research and in the civil rights
movement. Inside Langley's laboratories problems stem from
The first step in this direction was taken in 1947, when Langley
growing research demands and the acquisition of electronic
purchased an "electronic calculator" from Bell. It could solve
computers. In the wider world of politics and social issues,
engineers' equations "sixteen times faster than the human
problems stem from efforts to demolish segregation and the
computers" and could continue working long after the women
organized resistance to those efforts. Solutions to these
went home for the day. In the 1950s most of Langley's test
problems require changes and then dealing with the fallout of
data is still processed by hand, but the center has purchased
those changes.
its first IBM computers for the finance department.
Researchers soon appropriate the computers for their own The chapter's title "Angle of Attack" refers to "the angle
uses. It is clear to people like Dorothy Vaughan that the between the oncoming air ... and a reference line on the
"unattainable power and efficiency" the machines bring to airplane or wing." Jet engines are pushing flight into the realms
research will eventually make human computers obsolete. of supersonic and hypersonic speed. As a result, the effects of
airflow on a plane in flight ("pressure distribution") is described
Vaughan recognizes that desirable jobs will open for people
by increasingly complex aerodynamic equations that can take
who can expertly manage the electronic computers. Mastering
up to a month for the most experienced mathematician to
them will be "key to long-term career stability." She signs up for
complete. To solve the problem, Langley invests in new
computation courses being offered and encourages her staff
technology: IBM computers. This solution creates a new
to do the same.
problem for West Area's human computers to solve.
While progress toward nationwide integration has not been as
Langley's purchase of IBM computers is an inevitable effect of
smooth and linear as that of scientific advancement, progress
scientific progress. The growing complexity of calculations
has been made. The dismantling of the walls of segregation
demands the superhuman speed and accuracy this new
that began during World War II has led to a landmark Supreme
technology can provide. The fallout of acquiring the machines
Court decision that brings a key chunk of it crashing down. The
is the reduced reliance on human computers. Forward-thinking
court's 1954 decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education bans
and resourceful Dorothy Vaughan meets these headwinds by
segregation in all public schools in the United States. Even so,
signing up for computation courses. This skill will be key to job
Southern leadership launches a long-lasting resistance to the
security in the future.
ruling. Therefore, when Vaughan and other West computers
register for classes at the University of Virginia's Extension

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 25

To solve the problem of separate and unequal education, the Allen School in Asheville, a small town in North Carolina. At the
Supreme Court has banned segregation in public schools. Yet, Allen School—"considered one of the best Negro high schools
Dorothy Vaughan and other West computers are denied in the country"—she demonstrates a "knack for numbers and
access to the computer classes they need. Mary Jackson must all things analytical." By the time she graduates class
also fight for permission to attend engineering courses. While valedictorian in May 1958, the Soviets have launched satellites
Langley is busy integrating its workforce and preparing for the Sputnik II and Sputnik III. With American technology still
future, segregationists like Virginia's leading politician, Senator lagging, President Eisenhower initiates the National Defense
Harry Byrd, are dedicating themselves to stopping integration. Education Act, to "cultivate the intellectual talent required to
They represent a destructive force for whom segregation is generate successes ... in space." After graduating, she heads
more important than the country's growing need for higher to the Hampton Institute in Virginia. Here she meets the
levels of technical proficiency among its professionals. They children of Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, and many
are the social headwinds that resist and slow progress. other women of a generation ago who were "the successes of
an earlier collision between race, gender, science, and war."

Chapters 15–16
Chapter 16: What a Difference a Day
Makes
Summary
In 1957 like most Americans across the nation, Katherine
Johnson tracks the passage of Sputnik across the heavens
Chapter 15: Young, Gifted, and Black with a mix of consternation and admiration. Sputnik could be
mapping the United States with the goal of "locking down
On October 5, 1957, America finds itself for the third time in the targets for missile-delivered hydrogen bombs." The Soviet
20th century "trailing technologically during a period of rising success could also signal the end of America's global political
international tension." The Soviet Union has successfully dominance.
launched the first satellite, Sputnik, ushering in the Space Age.
However, things are not as bleak as they appear. America is
It can be seen in the skies over America.
ahead of the Soviet Union in missile technology. Nevertheless,
In Little Rock, Arkansas, the 1957 school year had begun with President Eisenhower is determined that the nation's first foray
violence as nine black students tried to integrate into the city's into space will be a peaceful effort, not a military operation.
all-white Central High School. Though President Dwight D. Explorer 1 is successfully launched in January 1958 as part of a
Eisenhower sent U.S. Army troops to escort the nine teens into global science project, the International Geophysical Year. Two
the school, mobs of whites form to stop them, threatening full- months later the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory launches a
out violence. Photos of the incidents along with stories of second satellite.
"lynchings, subjugations, and other injustices issuing forth from
At Langley the Soviet advances in space technology breathe
the South" are used by America's enemies to damage its
new life into the Flight Research Division where Johnson
reputation in the world. Black newspapers are quick to point
works. The division engineers partner with those from Pilotless
out a link between "America's inadequacy in space and the
Aircraft Research Division (PARD) to develop a rocket able to
dreadful conditions facing many black students in the South."
lift a satellite and a human passenger into orbit. Johnson works
While America wasted time and energy keeping black students
side-by-side with the engineers, "her mind and her data sheets
out of white schools, the Soviets were busy "compelling ALL
full of the specifications of real planes" that will get the job
children to attend the best possible schools." To "merit the
done.
position of world leadership," the United States will have to
cure itself of the "disease of segregation, violence, and
Dorothy Vaughan and the West Computing operation is now
oppression."
housed in a second-floor office in a Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel
building. The new state-of-the-art wind tunnel came online in
In 1957 Christine Mann (Christine Darden) is a senior at the
1955. For the next two decades it will be a one of the busiest

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 26

hubs at Langley, testing nearly every kind of supersonic During World War II the needs of the nation opened the doors
airplane, missile, and spacecraft. Many of the women from to black employment in the defense industry. Blacks proved
West Computing, like Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson, themselves more than capable of meeting the challenge and
now have permanent positions with engineering groups. As a exceeding expectations. Now, the Cold War and quickly
result, West Computing has considerably fewer employees. escalating space race again intersect with African American
dreams of opportunity and equality. With American technology
With advancements in flight technology has come the need for lagging behind, the nation needs all the talent and brainpower
"finer, more acute knowledge" and specialization. The it can garner. Once again, war will push technology which, in
generalists that have constituted the central computing pool turn, will push social change. When her time comes, those
are no longer necessary. "Expertise in a subfield" is becoming changes will enable Darden to become NASA's top aerospace
as necessary for mathematicians and computers as it is for engineer.
engineers. Yet, advancement is not easy. A woman must figure
how to get out of the human-computer pool and close "to the Chapter 16 describes a time of upheaval at Langley as the
room where the ideas [are] being created." And computers like laboratory expands its research to include "atmospheric
Dorothy Vaughan are allocated to an operation with reduced aircraft." The Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD) and
value to the agency. the Flight Research Division, where Katherine Johnson works,
move to center stage. She works side by side with engineers
In October 1958 the Space Act merges into one body all as an integral part of the team figuring out how to send
competitors within the U.S. government vying to lead the space humans into space. It is her numbers that will plot a course
effort, creating the National Aeronautics and Space from Earth into the void and home again. She will prove to be
Administration (NASA). This agency will be "high-profile, high- the right person for the job.
stakes, and scrutinized by the world." Langley will be its
nucleus. Without fanfare Langley dissolves the West Area It is a bittersweet time for supervisor Dorothy Vaughan. As the
Computers Unit. NACA is absorbed into NASA, it ends the era in which she
began her career. West Area Computing is dissolved in 1958.
Vaughan's career will continue for another decade, but once
Analysis again she will be "just one of the girls." The demand for
specialization has marginalized the need for a general
Chapter 15 describes advances in Soviet technology that are computer pool. Many from West Computing's "class of 1943"
heightening international tensions. It contrasts Soviet now have permanent positions with engineering groups. This is
advances with America's inadequacy, linking this to America's a testament to the progress black women have made in the
"disease of segregation." An entire segment of the nation's last 14 years at Langley as well as the high quality of their
population is being deliberately denied a chance to contribute work. Engineers have come to rely on them to swiftly and
to its success. But times are changing. The day the Soviet accurately translate raw data into a language that can be
Union's satellite Sputnik crosses the heavens, history turns the analyzed and turned into a graceful, powerful vehicle.
page on the postwar era and enters the Space Age. The
chapter also introduces Christine Mann (Christine Darden) as a
product of this time and place in America's history. Chapters 17–18
While Christine Mann (later Christine Darden) is in elementary
school, federal desegregation of schools had become law. She
and her classmates worry that they were ill-prepared to Summary
compete with white students. This reflects decades of
segregation and the underlying message that blacks are
inferior. Yet being denied the chance for advancement Chapter 17: Outer Space
suggests they are capable—an inexplicable social and political
The priorities in Katherine Johnson's division have transmuted
contradiction that, as Shetterly points out in Chapter 4, has
from aeronautics to space. Under President Eisenhower, the
"ripped Negroes asunder."

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 27

space program has been launched in the name of national man's ability to function in space, and to recover both men and
defense, global prestige, unprecedented opportunity for the spacecraft safely."
expansion of human knowledge, and the longing to go where
no one has gone before. NACA officials and engineers gather Robert Gilruth—top-notch engineer and head of the Space

in Washington, D.C., and laboratories around the country to pull Task Group—is given his pick of employees for this new

together all the intelligence available in anticipation of the endeavor. Working with engineers, Katherine Johnson is

endeavor. This will be a new learning curve for everyone assigned the task of "tracing out ... the exact path that the

involved. Langley engineers organize a space technology spacecraft would travel across Earth's surface" from the

lecture series in which the best brains in Flight Research and moment of lift-off to the moment of splash-down. The first

PARD (Pilotless Aircraft Research Division) give lectures in attempt to put a man into space will be "a simple ballistic

their area of expertise. Johnson is responsible for preparing flight," meaning the capsule will be fired by a rocket "like a

the charts and equations for the lectures. The lectures are bullet from a gun." It will go up and come down without orbiting

eventually compiled in written form—a textbook of space. Earth. On paper, its path is defined by mathematics, and the
safety of the whole flight depends on precision and accuracy.
As close as she is to the research, she is still an outsider,
unable to attend the lectures and editorial meetings where the The next step will be orbital flight—a much more complex

real action is taking place. In the editorial meetings she can matter. Johnson asks for the chance to calculate the trajectory

listen and learn as reports are subjected to Langley's grueling the capsule needs to follow. She is certain that if she knows

review process and the research refined until a final report can where the capsule must land to be safely picked up, she can

be issued. Finally, Johnson asks why she is barred from the calculate exactly where it should be sent up. She is put in

meetings. The reply is, "Girls don't go to the meetings." It's charge of the research report that will describe Project

nothing personal; simply a rule that reflects Langley's male- Mercury's orbital flight.

dominated culture. A woman might be evaluated as a peer, but

In September 1960 Johnsons research report is published. It is
generally speaking "men did the analytical thinking and women
"the first report to come out of Langley's Aerospace
did the calculating." Their other talents are left untapped.
Mechanics Division ... by a female author." It is a road map that

Johnson's innate self-confidence will not allow a perceived will help NASA meet its high goal of tipping the balance of the

status based on race or gender to stop her. As far as she is space race in favor of the United States. When Johnson signs

concerned, once she and her coworkers get to the office, they her first report, it is with a new name: Katherine Johnson. Along

are "all the same." She persists in asking to sit in on editorial with her career, her personal life has moved in a new direction,

meetings until her gentle persistence and confidence wear the with marriage to U.S. Army officer and Korean War veteran

engineers down. She gets into the editorial meetings of what James A. Johnson.

will become the Aerospace Mechanics Division of NASA. She

now can progress with the program.
Analysis
Chapter 18: With All Deliberate Speed In Chapters 17 and 18 Katherine Johnson, with gentle
persistence and proven expertise in her field, topples gender
On October 1, 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space barriers reflecting an outdated male perception of females:
Administration (NASA) replaces the National Advisory that gender defines a woman's job expectations. But since
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Langley Aeronautical women first entered Langley's workforce, that definition has
Laboratory is now Langley Research Center, "the epicenter" of been changing. Step by step, they have moved out of the
the new American agency. NASA creates a brain trust at female-dominated human-computer pool and into the
Langley called the Space Task Group. It draws members laboratory proper, becoming integral members of engineering
largely from the Flight Research Division and PARD (Pilotless groups. Some, like Mary Jackson, have become engineers
Aircraft Research Division). Their "Project Mercury" is the themselves. Johnson can see no reason why she should not
country's first manned space program. Its goal is threefold: "to move forward another step and sit in on the editorial meetings.
orbit a manned spacecraft around the Earth, to investigate As it has in the past, meritocracy works in her favor.

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 28

Permission is granted—another victory benefitting the women follow in her professional footsteps. She looks on building a
of Langley. Once again, social progress is linked to national soap box derby car with Levi as "an apprenticeship in
defense and advances in technology as the space race engineering." However, just getting involved in an event
intensifies. seemingly intended for white children is an accomplishment.
There is no rule against a black child entering the race, but
With the creation of NASA in 1958, Project Mercury begins. Its years of segregation have planted the belief that they have no
goal is to send a manned spacecraft into orbit around Earth chance of winning, let alone participating.
and bring both craft and pilot safely home. To gain a
competitive edge over the Soviet Union, NASA is looking for Jackson will not allow Levi to disqualify himself. She knows it
"the simplest, fastest, and most reliable approach" to reaching will take gumption to try and, even more, "to accept a loss as a
this goal. It is up to NASA's engineers and other personnel to failure that had nothing to do with his race." She believes in
determine and resolve "the limitations, interdependencies, clambering over every fence she encounters and pulling
contingencies, and unknowns" they face. These include the behind her everyone she can.
ideal structural design of the Mercury space capsule, its
electrical system, and its means of propulsion. Also, astronauts She has applied her "can-do" philosophy to her community

to pilot the space craft must be selected and trained. Known service as well as her professional career. She is a core

as the "Mercury Seven," the candidates include Alan Shepard, member of the National Technical Association (NTA)—"the

Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, and John Glenn. professional organization for black engineers and scientists."
She also has cultivated allies among the female professionals
Someone is needed to calculate the trajectory the capsule will at the center, black and white, who help her introduce local
follow. This is the challenge Johnson seems to have been black students to the possibilities of the engineering field. She
made to tackle. Her published 34-page report creates a recognizes that the opportunity she has been given to fight for
numerical picture detailing every aspect of the satellite's her engineering title "was made possible by the work of the
launch point, orbital path, velocity, and landing point. The people who had come before her." Now it is her turn to smooth
significance of her publication is enhanced by its being the first the path for the people coming behind her.
report published by a woman from the Aerospace Mechanics
Division. Johnson's excellent performance has carried her past On July 3 Levi enters his car in the Virginia Peninsula Soap Box

another gender barrier. Derby and wins. The prize is a golden trophy, a new bicycle,
and a chance at the national All-American Soap Box Derby in
Akron, Ohio. Jackson sees his victory as the embodiment of so

Chapters 19–20 much that she holds dear: hard work, drive, determination, and
"gumption."

Summary Chapter 20: Degrees of Freedom

In February 1960 four students from North Carolina
Chapter 19: Model Behavior Agricultural and Technical, a black college, stage a protest
against segregation that acts "like a match on dry kindling."
During the Depression the All-American Soap Box Derby They sit down at a segregated Woolworth's department store
emerged as a distraction that combined "whiz-bang ingenuity lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refuse to
with family fun." In 1960 Mary Jackson helps her 13-year-old leave until served. Their nonviolent action inspires others to
son Levi cobble together his own "humdinger" of an entry car, join the protest, and day after day these "sit-ins" spread to
applying her know-how to improving its aerodynamic fitness. other North Carolina cities. Soon, they spread to Kentucky,
Levi is one of 50,000 boys across the country who will Tennessee, and Virginia. Most of the activists are students, a
compete in their local races. It is an engineering project shared mix of black and white, male and female. Arrests are made but
and savored by both parents and children. do nothing to quell the protesters' zeal.

Like most NASA engineers, Jackson hopes her children will Meanwhile, at Langley desegregation is progressing. The

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 29

closing of the West Area Computing facility is a prelude to the the future, but he will tell the world that "the Negro dream and
opening of a new West Side facility, housing one of the most the American dream were one in the same." Black
advanced computer complexes on the East Coast. A new professionals like Mary Jackson are breaking ground for those
group, the Analysis and Computation Division, provides who will follow, just as those who preceded her have smoothed
computing for all Langley's research operations as well as for her way. She hopes others can build on her successes and
outside contractors. Here, former white East Computing alumni achieve the dream for themselves. Knowledge, discipline, hard
work alongside former black West computers, including work, and self-respect have been her tools. She strives to instill
Dorothy Vaughan. in her son the confident belief that he is as capable and
deserving as any other child to win at life. Entry into the All-
More men are being employed to work in computing as well, American Soap Box Derby is a first step.
signaling "the end of computing as women's work." Unwilling to
be left behind in the world of mechanical calculators, Vaughan Mary Jackson knows Levi may lose this race. But experience
reinvents herself as a computer programmer. Thereafter, when has taught her that achievement functions like a bank account:
engineers seek her help with computing, she converts "the sometimes you make deposits when you are blessed with
engineers' equations into the computer's formula translation success; sometimes you make withdrawals when you are in
language" and feeds them into the computer via hole-punched need. This, too, can be a valuable lesson for her son to learn.
cards. Losing a skirmish does not mean losing the war.

More than one computer is needed to "monitor and analyze all In Chapter 20 two entities are struggling to break free of the
aspects of the spaceflights, from launch to splashdown." NASA forces holding them back. The first group is the protestors
purchases and sets up three IBM computers: two in pushing back against societal barriers that bar blacks from
Washington, D.C., and a third in Bermuda. These three data eating, drinking, and socializing where they please. When
centers will coordinate with Mission Control at Cape protests spread to school campuses in Virginia, Christine Mann
Canaveral, Florida—the Mercury capsule's launch site. (Christine Darden) brings her youthful ideals to the struggle.
Together, they will maintain constant contact with Project Hampton Institute is "the first school outside of North Carolina
Mercury's astronauts during orbital flights, supported by a to organize a sit-in." Mann, a junior at the college, is among
worldwide network of tracking stations. The task of building those joining the peaceful protests. Their goal is for blacks to
this network of 18 communications stations falls to Langley. be treated as free and equal American citizens, meaning
Constant communication allows the spacecraft's trajectory to integration in all areas of life.
be carefully monitored for any problems with the vehicle or the
astronaut. The second entity struggling toward freedom is Project
Mercury's manned space capsule. Engineers and
On April 12, 1961, Project Mercury is dealt a blow when Soviet mathematicians work tirelessly to help the capsule and its
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space and human occupant to break free of Earth's atmosphere and orbit
the first to orbit Earth. With renewed intensity NASA redoubles the globe. The series of setbacks in the process has served to
its efforts. A month later astronaut Alan Shepherd successfully intensify their efforts. Their attitude mirrors that of the
completes a suborbital flight that sparks new confidence in protestors; all their talents and efforts are aimed in one
America's technical abilities. Its success prompts President direction: forward.
John Kennedy to pledge the country to the ambitious goal of
placing a man on the Moon.
Chapters 21–22
Analysis
Much of Chapter 19 is about the American Dream. Blacks have
Summary
been reaching out for this, pursuing it, since the day the
Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in 1863. Martin
Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is still three years in

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 30

Chapter 21: Out of the Past, the Future Chapter 22: America Is for Everybody
The most worrisome problem the Project Mercury engineers In May 1963 the U.S. Department of Labor issues a brochure to
face is not sending a man into space. It is returning him safely commemorate the centennial of the Emancipation
to Earth. Everything depends on their "mastery of the laws of Proclamation. Later that year, on August 28, 300,000 people
physics and mathematics." NASA engineers work tirelessly to converge on the nation's capital. They have come to see a
"bulletproof" the capsule against any foreseeable problems "pantheon of leaders from the most energetic phase of the civil
while recognizing that simple bad luck can end in the worst- rights movement." Organized by A. Philip Randolph, the event
case scenario. Additional testing and fine-tuning mean delays includes Martin Luther King Jr., who will deliver the historic "I
and missed deadlines. Project Mercury's first orbital Have a Dream" speech. This speech will serve ever after as a
flight—originally scheduled to launch at the end of 1960—does reminder to all citizens of the nation that "the Negro dream and
not take place until February 20, 1962. In the meantime, the American dream [are] one and the same."
another Soviet cosmonaut has successfully completed a 17-
orbit flight. At Langley the women who began as West human computers
have turned "their wartime service into lasting and meaningful
Three days before Project Mercury's Freedom 7 capsule is careers." By the standards of the past they have "reached the
launched, astronaut John Glenn implores the engineers to run mountaintop." Yet, in the early 1960s there are still too few
a last review of the orbital trajectory generated by the IBM classified as engineers and mathematicians. The challenge
computer. However, this check he wants to be run by the now for all women, black and white, is to break past the
human computer Katherine Johnson. professional barrier of computer to "see where their talent
might take them."
Glenn does not know her name—he has asked for "the
girl"—but he knows her reputation and trusts the quality of her Mary Jackson and other black employees at Langley take new
work. She is the right person for the job, which is what matters. recruits under protective wings, helping them find places to live
His request draws Johnson into the bright light that shines on and settle into their jobs. This new generation of researchers is
this historic endeavor, making her a symbol of progress for coming to their careers early in life. There will be time to grow
women and for blacks. She sets to work on "the labyrinth of and to test the limits of their talents.
trajectory equations," working through every minute of the
scheduled three-orbit mission. When she compares her By 1967 Christine Darden, now married and the mother of two

completed calculations with those of the IBM computer, every daughters, has come to work at Langley as a data analyst in

number in the stack of papers she has produced matches the the Reentry Physics branch. She and Katherine Johnson

computer's output. The mission can move forward. become friends through social and charity activities but never
have the chance to work together at Langley. Yet they share
On February 20, 1962, 135 million people tune in to watch the joy of seeing their endeavors coalesce as work at the
Freedom 7's flight. The launch is perfect and two problems agency progresses. They also grieve over the fiery destruction
during flight are successfully handled. The Mercury capsule of the Apollo 1 command module during a preflight test on
completes its orbits and returns safely. John Glenn is a hero January 27, 1967, killing three astronauts.
and has saved America's pride.
The disaster shakes NASA to its core and results in a redesign
Though the heart of the space program has moved from of the spacecraft, "fixing flaws that had been exposed by the
Hampton to Houston, residents of the Virginia Peninsula are disaster." Each of the next nine missions is a step closer to the
proud of their region's legacy "as the birthplace of the future." ultimate goal of sending humans to the Moon.
The official seal of Hampton is redesigned to show "a crab
holding a Mercury capsule in its claw." Its new motto is E
Praeteritis Futura: out of the past, the future. Analysis
Chapter 21's title, "Out of the Past, the Future," highlights the
new motto of Hampton, Virginia, following John Glenn's

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 31

successful flight. Katherine Johnson's hands-on check of the drive can take them.
orbital trajectory calculations before the flight illustrates the
motto in ways both symbolic and practical.

Using its IBM computers, Langley has calculated every

Chapter 23–Epilogue
moment of the Mercury capsule's three-orbit flight. But none of
this would have been possible had not scores of human
computers diligently performed their jobs, building up
Summary
computing from a pool of anonymous number crunchers to a
respected profession. While West Computing "no longer exists
as a physical space," the minds and skill of its alumni—the Chapter 23: To Boldly Go
"hidden figures" of Langley—have provided a numerical
On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft, boosted by a Saturn
foundation upon which to build Project Mercury. As noted in
V rocket and manned by three astronauts, lifts off for its
Chapter 16, the female black computers have "navigated
historic journey to the Moon. Globally, 600 million people tune
through the days of racial segregation." They have proven that
in to television to watch. At NASA 400,000 employees,
"a female mind was the analytical equal of its male
contractors, and military support monitor the progress of the
counterpart." Now, the next wave of professionals and former
spacecraft and its occupants.
computers like Dorothy Vaughan program the mechanical
computers that plot a spacecraft's journey into space. Twenty-six manned space flights have preceded the
momentous event that will "plunge the sword into the heart of
On the practical side, John Glenn still wants a final check
the Soviet Union's ambitions in space." Yet, not everyone is
performed the old-fashioned way. He is a former test pilot
elated. During the 1960s the space program and the civil rights
used to hands-on control of his aircraft. He trusts the hands-on
movement have shared a similar optimism and idealism about
method of crunching numbers using a human computer,
American democracy. However, while federal law now prohibits
especially when the mind behind the process belongs to
legal discrimination, the "economic and social mobility" of
Katherine Johnson, Langley's top mathematician. He knows
blacks remains stuck. Billions of tax dollars are being spent on
precision and accuracy are paramount to the success of the
Apollo. To some in the black community, solutions to problems
mission. Even the most minor mistake in an equation can
on Earth should take priority over a victory in space. Even
"cascade through the chain of dependencies" with
those who cheer the astronauts and the goals of the program
catastrophic consequences.
question why the public face of the space program is white.
Chapter 22's title, "America Is for Everybody," reflects the ideal The black engineers, scientists, and mathematicians live and
at the heart of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" work in the shadows.
speech. It also reflects the strides black Americans have made
Katherine Johnson has worked hard to convince young black
politically, legally, and socially toward securing "their long
students they have a future in science. Yet, there is a
overdue inheritance"—an inheritance they have been waiting
disconnect between what she counsels and what they see. Her
for since the days of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
campaign of persuasion gets a boost in 1966 when primetime
Shetterly notes that the proclamation has special significance television launches Star Trek. Each week, the adventures of a
for Langley employees and the inhabitants of the Virginia multinational, multiracial, mixed-gender starship crew are
Peninsula. Langley lies 10 miles from the place where Africans enthusiastically welcomed into American homes. Among the
were first brought ashore in English North America. Under a crew is Lieutenant Uhura, "a black woman and proud citizen of
sprawling oak tree also not far away, "Negroes of the Virginia United States of Africa." She is part of an imagined future
Peninsula convened for the first Southern reading of the where capable, qualified blacks hold positions of authority and
Emancipation Proclamation." Inside Langley, black women like prestige because they are "the most qualified person for the
Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson are job." For Johnson this underscores her belief that science and
"midwifing the future." They are giving to those who follow the space are the ideal place "for talented people of any
opportunity to go as far as their own hard work, talent, and background."

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Chapter Summaries 32

Over a decade of testing and research, of data sheets and Langley Field, where "everybody's daddy had a plane." She met
plotting, of IBM punch cards, of delays and tragedies, and most Jackson through the Federal Women's Program, and in 1981
of all numbers have "given birth to the space program." when Jackson became Langley's equal-opportunity specialist,
Johnson's calculations have been vital to the success of the Champine stepped into her role at the Federal Women's
Apollo mission. She recognizes that the trajectories of many Program Manager. Building on Mary Jackson's legacy, Gloria
people have influenced her along her personal path to Champine made sure "that no talent at Langley was
success: "all the women who ... helped revolutionize overlooked." Among those careers she shepherded was that of
aeronautics" with hard work and persistence; the men who Christine Darden.
mentored her; and her parents, especially her father, who
seemed to know she would "somehow, someday, unite her Darden survived two waves of layoffs in the 1970s. Having

story with the great epic of America." proven her skill in mathematics and the ability to handle
Langley's electronic computers, she was assigned to a group
"working on sonic boom research." Her first task was to write a
Epilogue computer program translating into code "the industry standard
algorithm used to minimize" a given airplane's sonic boom. The
The story of the black women who worked as mathematicians code she developed over the next three years is still used
at NASA is a story of the triumph of meritocracy. It is also today. As Darden continued to advance her education, she
proof that "many numbers of black women have participated earned a master's degree in computer programming and a
as protagonists in the epic of America." The stories of the doctorate in mechanical engineering. With talent, hard work,
women of West Computing are "linked directly to the twentieth and persistence, she eventually became "a manager one level
century's defining moments." down from the top of Langley."

Katherine Johnson's career spanned 33 years. She considered When Langley layoffs were announced in 1971, Dorothy
her greatest contribution to the space program to be her Vaughan's name was on the list of employees to be retained.
calculations that brought Apollo 11's lunar lander from the As a supervisor from 1951 through 1958, she nurtured many
Moon's surface to a safe rendezvous with the orbiting careers. Afterward, she performed her job with excellence. Yet,
command service module. She worked with Al Hamer, her the promotion she hoped for went to someone else. Dorothy
research colleague, and astronaut John Young for the rest of Vaughan retired in 1971. The new generation of professional
her time at Langley. In recent years her work has gained women like Christine Darden is a living legacy. They are
recognition. Most significantly, she was awarded the "standing on the shoulders of the West computers," and they
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 by President Barack are "still in the office."
Obama. Johnson is "the most recognized of all the NASA
human computers."
Analysis
From the time Mary Jackson arrived at Langley, she
progressed from computer to mathematician to engineer. In In 1969 NASA fulfills the goals set for the nation by two
the 1970s NASA began reorganizing, shifting its priorities for presidents: President Dwight Eisenhower and President John
the new decade toward the aircraft industry, which was coping F. Kennedy. In 1958 President Eisenhower's Advisory
with "an increasingly mobile society." Jackson survived the Committee put out a primer on spaceflight, Introduction to
agency-wide restructuring and continued her engineering Outer Space. One of the goals set forth in the primer was
partnership with Kazimierz Czarnecki until he retired in 1979. exploration to learn what lies beyond the confines of our own
She then accepted a position in the Human Resources Division small world. This certainly fit the description of Apollo 11's lunar
as Federal Women's Program Manager. She was "charged with landing and Commander Neil Armstrong's first walk on the
pushing for the advancement of all the women at the Moon. Following John Glenn's successful Project Mercury
center"—a mission "at the core of Mary's humanitarian spirit." mission in 1962, President Kennedy had pledged the nation to
the goal of a manned mission to the Moon. Apollo's success is
Jackson's ally in this mission was Gloria Champine. A native of
also "the fulfillment of a promise made by a president who
Hampton, Champine grew up within the flight culture of
hadn't lived to see it carried out."

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But in contrast to these triumphs, social change for blacks mathematicians, and engineers who populated her hometown.
lags. On the cusp of a new decade the nation's drive "to For years her assumption was that science, math, and
distribute the blessings of democracy to all ... citizens" seems engineering were "just what black folks did." Her book grew out
to have stalled. And with the eyes of the world on Apollo 11's of the realization that courage, hard work, and perseverance
extraordinary journey, blacks bitterly note that they saw "no had broken down race and gender barriers and paved the way
black television commentators, no black administrators, and no for the world she knew.
black faces in Mission Control." Most significantly, they know
no black astronauts are waiting in the wings for their moment
of glory. "The Negro's ladder to the
Nevertheless, the contributions made by the women of American Dream was missing
NACA/NASA are undeniable and enduring. They have helped
revolutionize aeronautics and, with Apollo 11's success, have
rungs."
helped put the stars within reach. Their stories, whether hidden
or heralded, are inseparable from the great epic of America. — Narrator, Chapter 2
Within their professional spheres of influence at Langley, they
figured out for themselves how "to advance as a woman in a Dorothy Vaughan understands the world as it is in the 1940s
profession that was built by men." With intelligence, hard work, for blacks. Yet, as Martin Luther King Jr. will underscore in his
diligence, and perseverance, they have broken down race and "I Have Dream" speech many years later, blacks share the
gender barriers and become role models for others to follow. same American Dream as whites. Vaughan is no exception and
has armed herself with education against a world that requires
The epilogue sheds light on the women of Langley's continued
more of blacks and attempts to give them less in return.
contributions and legacies following Apollo 11's success, as
Education tops her list of ideals and goals for her children as
NASA begins reorganizing to meet new priorities. Their stories
well, to safeguard them against "the forces of discrimination
point to the bright future for black women exemplified by the
that could lay waste to their economic security."
Star Trek character of Lieutenant Uhura (played by Nichelle
Nichols), who was so admired by Mary Jackson and Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Uhura embodied the ideals of meritocracy the
black professional women at Langley have held dear. Her "Negro life in America was a
gender and race were of no consequence. She was assigned a
never-ending series of
position of importance because she was the right person for
the job. negotiations: when to fight and
when to concede."
g Quotes — Narrator, Chapter 5

"Growing up in Hampton, the face The federal law ending segregation in the defense industry
allowed West computers to work at Langley. Nevertheless,
of science was brown like mine." state laws ruled which bathrooms black employees may use
and where the West computers may sit in the cafeteria. Miriam
— Narrator, Prologue Mann, a World War II newcomer to West Area Computing,
wages a private war with the "Colored Computers" sign
marking the table to which she and the other black female
In the prologue author Margot Lee Shetterly explains that the
computers are relegated. She risks getting fired for the
Hampton she grew up in reflected the legacy of the black
insubordinate act of removing each new sign that appears on
professionals at Langley Research Center. They paved the
the table. But this is her chosen battle to fight—and hers to win.
way for the next generation of black research scientists,
Eventually, the sign ceases to be replaced. It is a small but

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Quotes 34

visible victory.
away against the stubborn
underbrush of low expectations."
"They wielded their work like
— Narrator, Chapter 9
weapons, warding off the
presumption of inferiority because The color barrier is not the only one the women of West
they were Negro or female." Computing have to knock down. The other is the gender
barrier. This is a battle they share with the women of East
Computing. Their analyses and calculations are vital to
— Narrator, Chapter 5
aeronautic research and development, but they remain as
anonymous as the calculating machines they use. The male
During World War II blacks and other minorities in America engineers of Langley are oblivious to their intellectual potential
fought for their country in two distinct arenas. They fought the and to their desire to be recognized for their research
external Axis enemies who wished to destroy freedom and contributions. But with time, persistence, and a handful of
democracy. And they fought the enemy within—racism and highly qualified female pioneers to lead the way, the gender
segregation—that would destroy these ideals as surely as the wall at Langley gradually comes down.
Axis forces. For the West computers at Langley, their work
was their weapon for winning both wars. With excellence they
hoped to win a double victory: to defeat the Axis powers and to "The mask [protected them]
defeat Jim Crow. Because they were all female, victory had the
added benefit of breaching the gender barrier as well. against the constant reminders of
being at once American, and the
"No one ... should feel that he or American dilemma."
she did not have a part in the — Narrator, Chapter 11
bombing of Japan."
Mary Jackson is humiliated by her white colleagues when she
— Henry Reid, Chapter 6 asks where the "Colored" bathroom is on the East Side of
Langley's campus. She hides her anger behind a protective
mask blacks habitually wear in the segregated South. They
Langley manager Henry Reid is speaking to Langley Memorial
dare not show how they feel when angered and humiliated by
Aeronautical Laboratory's entire staff, from engineers and
acts of racism and discrimination. Whether an act stems from
mechanics to the lab's janitors and maids. The B-29
deliberate cruelty or insensitive habit and ignorance, it is
Superfortress airplane developed by Langley delivered the
always a reminder that blacks in 1950s America still live as
atomic bomb to Japan, ending World War II. The plane itself
second-class citizens.
became a "symbol of U.S. technological prowess and bravery."
As Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox asserted in a 1943
address to Langley's management and employees, the war
was fought in America's laboratories as well as on the "Women ... massaged the numbers,
battlefields.
swam in the numbers, scrutinized
the numbers until their eyes
"Women ... had to wield their blurred."
intellects like a scythe, hacking

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Symbols 35

— Narrator, Chapter 11 beginning for dreams of plotting a course to Mars, Jupiter, and
beyond. The first step is taken. The trick now is to build on it—a
philosophy that reflects the way Johnson built her own life and
Mary Jackson "faced down" the brilliant engineer John Becker,
success.
who challenges the output of her calculations. After
rechecking her work, Jackson confidently defends it. Further
inspection reveals that it is Becker who made the mistake. The

l Symbols
accuracy of her work, her independence of mind, and her
strength of character in defending her output make her a
celebrity among all the female computers, black and white. She
symbolizes the fundamental and vital contributions of women
to the advancement of aeronautic and aerospace research, as The Double V
well as the high standard of excellence to which they hold
themselves.

America's involvement in World War II shone a light on the

nation's ideals of freedom and equality. President Roosevelt, in
"Get the girl to check the his 1941 State of the Union address to the American people,
numbers." declared "men of every creed and every race" are entitled to
"freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want,
and freedom from fear." Blacks in segregated America
— John Glenn, Chapter 21
wondered when those long-awaited "Four Freedoms" would be
granted to them. They were promised these rights as a reward
Astronaut John Glenn is slated to be the first man to orbit for their military service during World War I, but the set-in-
Earth as part of Project Mercury. Before the launch date, he their-ways forces "opposed to the Negro's drive for equality"
requests a final check of the orbital trajectory numbers by the barred the way. As a result, the souls of black citizens
human computer he knows is trusted by "the brainy fellas" who continued to be at odds with their American identity. While
control the electronic computers. Glenn doesn't know believing in the nation's ideals of equality, they remained mired
Katherine Johnson by name, but he trusts the quality of her in a system that kept the black race "at the bottom of
work. She is the right person for the job, which is what matters. American society." Many began to wonder about their
His request draws Johnson into the bright light shining on this prospective involvement in the war, asking, "What are we
historic endeavor. For women and for blacks his request and fighting for?"
her success make her a symbol of progress.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7,
1941, blacks closed ranks and moved forward as a community
"in sync with America ... as a unified whole." Their patriotism
"One thing built on the next.
and abiding belief in the possibilities of American democracy
Katherine ... knew: once you took were reignited. They moved with the idea of a double victory,
first over America's enemies without and second over its
the first step, anything was
enemies within—the prejudice that will destroy America "just as
possible." surely as the Axis forces."

The Double V is embodied in the mindset of the black female

— Narrator, Chapter 23
mathematicians of West Area Computing. The meritocracy of
the U.S. Civil Service was imperfect, but it offered an
Apollo 11 put a man on the Moon. For Katherine Johnson, the opportunity for the women to prove themselves equal to—or
success of that mission, in which she was deeply involved, is better than—their white counterparts in intellect, skill,
both an ending and a beginning. It means victory over the professionalism, and patriotism. For them individually and as a
Soviet Union and an end to the space race. But it also is a group, the Double V represents faith that the nation's founding

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Themes 36

ideals soon will be extended to every American. her highest aspirations and goals.

Author Margot Lee Shetterly notes in Chapter 2 that "the

Negro's ladder to the American Dream was missing rungs."
Colored Signs Racism and institutionalized discrimination relegated blacks to
a second-class place in the hierarchy of human beings and
denied them the opportunity to partake of the American
dream. It was a system in which they needed "to be twice as
Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory is located in
good to get half as far."
Virginia, a stronghold of Jim Crow laws. Though President
Roosevelt officially desegregated the defense industry, state Looking to the future through a lens of hope, gifted
laws still restricted social contact between blacks and whites. professionals Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, and Mary
Buses, drinking fountains, bathrooms, and eating areas were Jackson know they are reaching for the American dream for
still segregated according to Jim Crow laws. The system more than themselves. Their successes will afford their
began in the South in 1877, following the end of children "previously unimaginable access to American society,"
Reconstruction. During the 1940s, when black female lifting them toward that dream and its "long-promised
mathematicians first went to Langley, its presence was blessings of democracy." Breaking down the color barrier at
manifested in the separation of human computers by race. The Langley will also clear the path for other black professionals,
black computers were assigned to West Area Computing and including men. And being female, their successes will pave the
white computers to East Area Computing. A more overt display way for the advancement of all women, black and white.
of Jim Crow was the presence of "Colored" signs designating
where black employees may or may not eat and use the
bathroom. They were reminders of blacks' second-class
status. In time the signs' gradual fall to benign neglect testifies Education, Hard Work, and
to the integration taking place within Langley. Then at last, in
1958 the West Area Computers Unit was dissolved, "officially Character
ending segregation at Langley." The "Colored" signs
disappeared once and for all.

Fundamental to achieving the American dream are education,

hard work, and character. This is a prevailing theme in every

m Themes
success story chronicled in Hidden Figures. Among the black
female mathematicians, these values are embraced as well as
passed down to their children.

The American Dream The life and career of mathematician Dorothy Vaughan
exemplifies this theme. Education tops the list of her ideals as
the surest hedge against a world in which "the forces of
discrimination could lay waste to their economic security." She
In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a works diligently to earn her college degree in mathematics,
Dream" speech before 300,000 people in Washington, D.C. At though she must close the door on further ambitions to earn
its heart is the reminder to all citizens that "the Negro dream her master's in the subject. The Great Depression and family
and the American dream [are] one in the same." The American responsibilities compel her take a more certain and practical
dream is built upon a God-centered belief in inalienable rights: route: a degree in education that will allow her to teach. As a
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Enshrined in the teacher, she demonstrates leadership and organizational skills
Declaration of Independence, these rights are safeguarded by that will shine again in her role as Langley's West Computer
the principles of freedom and equality, meaning equality of supervisor.
opportunity. Ideally available to all Americans, freedom and
equality allow each individual to reach for and achieve his or In Vaughan's philosophy "ideals without practical solutions

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Hidden Figures Study Guide Themes 37

were empty promises." In the summer of 1943, she willingly require brainpower, and for over half a century an entire
takes a grueling summer job in Camp Pickett's laundry boiler segment of America's population was untapped. Racism and
plant specifically for the money she can put away toward her Jim Crow laws kept blacks from participating. However, the
children's college education. When she sees a bulletin seeking growing needs of a nation at war provided an opening for
women to fill mathematical jobs at Langley's aeronautical blacks to enter the workforce through civil-defense jobs.
laboratory, she recognizes it as something new with great Blacks were optimistic that their useful and honorable service
potential that will bring her "that much closer to assuring her to their country would earn them the social and economic
children's future." With confidence in her ability to meet the equality that is the promise of democracy. There was legal and
challenges of the job, Vaughan applies for a position at Langley political progress when President Truman desegregated the
during World War II. There, alongside her fellow West human military in 1948 and the Supreme Court struck down
computers, she works for the double victory: for her country segregation in public schools in 1954. But social change
and for her race. lagged, barred by inflexible Southern resistance to integration.
Even so, within Langley, social and organizational changes
During her 28 years at Langley, Vaughan contributes to scores were pushed and guided by "the civil rights forces gathering
of research reports. As a supervisor, she nurtures many momentum in the country."
careers. She considers her legacy the up-and-coming
generation of younger professional women of Langley. She Four years elapsed between the end of World War II and the
eased their way, firmly and persistently chipping away at the beginning of the Cold War. Once again, Langley ramped up
color barrier. Her weapons have been perseverance, research and development, this time focusing on missile
endurance, self-imposed standards of excellence and technology and space exploration. New opportunities
professionalism, and refusal to attribute "shortcoming either to presented themselves to ambitious black mathematicians,
her race or to her gender." Like Katherine Johnson, Mary scientists, and engineers. As the 1960s progressed, it was a
Jackson, Christine Darden, and all the women of West Area time of renewed optimism among people of color. The Civil
Computing, Dorothy Vaughan's life and career reflect the Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) pry "Jim Crow's
importance of education, hard work, and good character when legal grip off the country's workplaces, modes of
in pursuit of the American dream. transportation, public spaces, and voting box." Still, economic
and social mobility remained elusive for blacks. Even within
Langley the public face of the space program remained
overwhelmingly white. Nevertheless, progress was made. The
War, Technology, and Social challenges of war and demands for new technology first
opened the doors of Langley to anyone, black or white,
Progress capable of filling a need. The laboratory thus became a
microcosm reflecting the nation's uneven but sure progress
toward realizing—for all citizens—America's ideals of freedom
During World War II the demand for superior airpower to and equality.
defeat the Axis powers generated tremendous advances in
aeronautical engineering technology. Similarly, the Cold War
hurled technology into the Space Age as the United States and
the Soviet Union raced to be first to conquer this new frontier.
The inseparable nature of the human stories told in Hidden
Figures from these epic periods in America's history is
highlighted by the theme of war, technology, and social
progress.

Henry Reid, director of the NACA Langley Memorial

Aeronautical Laboratory during World War II, has a motto:
"Victory through airpower!" Advancements in technology

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