Her small fingers grasp the chalk from the professor’s outstretched hand. She walks to the board in front of a classroom full of young adults and proceeds to solve the equation with an ever so slight smile of accomplishment. Her age, if in double digits, does not exceed ten by much.
She enters the open office wearing a dress and heels. A young man in a starched white shirt and tie approaches and sets a trash can on the stack of notebooks she carries, assuming she is there to clean. Setting the can on the floor, she approaches the only other woman in the room—a secretary. Her chin does not drop and her eyes speak of purpose. Inner strength allows her to outwardly ignore the stares and energy of the room.
The bathroom for colored computers is across the Langley campus, quite a distance from where she spends her days working to get a man to the moon. Sun and rain, she runs outside, holding confidential papers to her chest, until one day, another hero smashes the barrier that keeps her from using the facilities right down the hall.
Do you know Katherine Johnson’s story?
Brave, Intelligent, Determined, Humble, Hero
Driving rain drove me to the treadmill this morning. Instead of news, I chose to fill my mind with a story that keeps my elevator moving up.
Have you seen Hidden Figures?