Was it challenging to track down the history of Langley’s woman computers?
One [challenge] was trying to figure out exactly how the segregated group of black women came to Langley. Trying to track down when it happened, who was there, where they were originally sent to work, because they had to be in a segregated office. What I concluded is that it was not quite a handshake deal, but that everyone kind of quietly agreed this was going to happen, and it happened. It wasn’t something that happens with a lot of fanfare. Tracking that down, it was really like there’s an article in the newspaper The Norfolk Journal and Guide, which announced the first woman going there, and then all of a sudden their names started appearing in the Langley newsletter.
How did you choose which women to focus on?
You couldn’t tell this as a single person’s story. This is the story of broad success of women overall, and African-American women specifically, in a job category that it’s simply assumed they don’t exist. During a time of Jim Crow segregation, during a time when women frequently weren’t even allowed to have credit cards in their own names, here were these women – large numbers of women – doing very high-level mathematical work at one of the highest scientific institutions in the world at that time. I wanted it to be a story that could show that broad group, but at the same time, in order to make it interesting you have to choose the people with the most compelling stories.
Who did you follow?
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MYSTERIES OF THE UNI WHERE ARE ALL THE SPIRAL GALAXIES?
There are far fewer spiral galaxies than elliptical ones in the Supergalactic Plane, and scientists are keen to discover why
ZOMBIE STARS
+10 OTHER TERRIFYING SPACE OBJECTS
HOW TO BEAT LIGHT POLLUTION
Thought it was impossible to observe the wonders of the night sky from towns and cities? Think again. Follow our tips and tricks on successfully observing through sky glow
15 STUNNING STAR CLUSTERS
These beautiful stellar groupings are spattered across the cosmos
Eileen Collins "It was a difficult mission...we were the first to see Mir"
Having served as both the first female pilot and first female commander of NASA's Space Shuttle, Collins boosted the involvement of women in space exploration to a whole new level
MARS LEAKS FASTER WHEN IT'S CLOSER TO THE SUN
The Red Planet has lost enough water to space to form a global ocean hundreds of kilometres deep
FUTURE TECH KANKOH-MARU
This ambitious reusable spacecraft will be capable of taking 50 people to and from orbit
THE FINAL FRONTIER
Beyond the reach of the Sun is a fascinating region of the cosmos that were only just beginning to explore
A long-lost moon could explain Mars' weird shape and extreme terrain
A long-lost moon could explain why Mars is so different from the other rocky planets in the Solar System. Today Mars has two tiny moons.
A sprinkling of cosmic dust may have helped kick-start life on Earth
Cosmic dust may have helped kick-start life on Earth. New findings challenge a widely held assumption that this wasn't a plausible explanation.