Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson
by Katherine Johnson (Author)
Booktalk: As a young girl, Katherine Johnson showed an exceptional aptitude for math. In school she quickly skipped ahead several grades and was soon studying complex equations with the support of a professor who saw great promise in her. But ability and opportunity did not always go hand in hand. As an African American and a girl growing up in an era of brutal racism and sexism, Katherine faced daily challenges. Still, she lived her life with her father’s words in mind: “You are no better than anyone else, and nobody else is better than you.”
In the early 1950s, Katherine was thrilled to join the organization that would become NASA. She worked on many of NASA’s biggest projects including the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first men on the moon.
Snippet: “There is some sort of secret government project out here on the Virginia peninsula, and they are looking for Colored women who are mathematicians,” Eric told me.
“Really!?”
“They call the women ‘computers,’ Katherine,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what they do. But do you think you might be interested?”
“Yes. I want to hear more!”
“Well, I know several women who do that job. I think I can help you get on.”
After the fire we needed a fresh start. So we packed up and moved the 358 miles east to the Hampton Roads area, the largest ice-free harbor in the United States and home to some of the nation’s most important military installations. With so many military bases there, there were lots of jobs in the area.
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