Hidden Figures

Starting in the mid-1950s, electronic computers began to be used by the NACA. Dorothy knew they represented the future, so she eagerly sought to take the extra classes offered to operate them—and urged the women under her supervision to do so as well. The classes were sponsored by Langley and held at nearby high schools and colleges. The catch was that many of these institutions were still segregated by race.

This affected Mary, whose boss, Kaz, encouraged her to enter Langley’s training program in engineering. In 1958, they co-authored a report—a key aspect for promotion at Langley—on the effects that supersonic speeds had on the flow of air over the nose cone of a plane. Kaz saw her potential and wanted to help her advance. The classes for the training program, however, were held at Hampton High School, which did not accept Black students. Shetterly notes the irony here:

If Mary had applied for a job as janitor, the doors to the school would swing wide open. As a professional engineer-in-training with a plan to occupy the building for the nefarious purpose of advancing her education, she needed to petition the city of Hampton for ‘special permission’ to attend classes in the whites-only school (144).