Hidden figures Chapter 19 - 23

In the summer of 1960, Mary helps her son, Levi Jr, prepare his entry to the annual soap box derby. The derby has always been a white father-son race, in which the fathers help their sons prepare a soap box racer. Mary’s son Levi is among the first black participants, and certainly the first to win the race. Mary’s work in aerodynamics proves to be impossibly helpful in creating the fastest racer. When her son is asked what he would like to be after he has won the race, he answers that he would like to grow up to be an engineer like his mother. Mary proactively tries to ensure that her daughters are given an equal opportunities as well. She presents a talk to local school girls along with another engineer from NASA, informing the children about the possibilities of a career as an Astronaut.

The civil rights movement makes significant gains in the year 1960, beginning with a lunch counter sit-in in North Carolina. People in the other states follow suit, and a similar protest is held in Hampton. Catherine Mann eagerly participates in the protests despite the significant workload from her demanding college course. The state and county governments resist the protestors with tooth and nail, Dorothy’s old high school is closed down as the county chooses to defund public schools rather than having them desegregated. However, Langley remains a beacon of social progress as it continues to make great strides toward equity. Dorothy’s hard-earned skills in working with computers finally bear fruit as she is asked to join a newly formed division, Analysis, and Computation, where she aids in programming the newly procured IBM machines for NASA. The agency fulfills its original mandate and makes the news as Alan Shephard successfully returns to earth after performing a short sub-orbital flight in space, thereby becoming the first American in space. President Kennedy makes a speech celebrating the achievement in 1961 and declares that America will reach the moon by the end of the decade. NASA decides to make Houston the center of their operations for the new mission. Several women at Langley are prepared to make the move, but others wish to remain at Langley, and this includes Katherine.

The pressure on NASA and the United States government begins to mount as Russia continues to push the envelope by completing a mission with seventeen orbits while Project Mercury remains stalled as engineers strive to overcome some of the final challenges of their mission. As Project Mercury becomes ready, John Glenn, the man who is going to be the first astronaut to orbit the earth, expresses his mistrust about automated machines. He wants to have “the girl” reconfirm the calculations provided by the computers at NASA. He is referring to Katherine, whom he has heard so much about. Katherine is entrusted with the work, and she works against the clock as she tries to ensure that she can confirm the calculations without causing any delay to the launch of Project Mercury. She succeeds in confirming the math, and John Glenn is launched into space, where he completes a manned orbit of Earth. John encounters an issue with his heat shield as one of the caution lights in his shuttle begins to sound a warning, but he makes manual adjustments that allow him to successfully renter earth’s atmosphere and land safely. A parade in Hampton celebrates the triumphant John Glenn, while the Black community celebrates the success of Katherine. The Pittsburgh courier lauds her achievements and features her on the front of their newspaper. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivers his momentous speech “I have a dream” to a crowd gathered in Washington DC after a march, one that had been organized by A. Philip Randolph. The same individual whose actions during the Roosevelt era had helped open up federal jobs for black people, jobs like the one Dorothy had first joined nearly two decades ago. She is even recognized for twenty years of service to Langley later that same year. The Space Task Group suffers a major setback in 1967 just as it seems like the division is honing in on completing the task that had been set to them by President Kennedy. In a tragic accident, three astronauts die in their capsule as it is being tested. The Space Task Group tightens its safety procedures, as all the staff members go above and beyond to ensure no further loss of life. Katherine works to exhaustion along with her colleagues so much so that she falls asleep while driving back home in her car. Katherine accidentally swerves off the road but she does not suffer any injuries. Meanwhile, Christine Mann, now called Christine Darden after marriage, finishes off her master's at the University of Virginia and then joins Langley. Although she never works with Katherine, the two of them attend the same church and grow close to one another.

NASA completes preparations for the moon-bound Apollo 11, which aims to land the first men on the moon, and the mission launches in the summer of 1969. The whole world watches the launch with excitement, but the black people in America are concerned about the seemingly misplaced priorities of the government. They witness the government spending countless dollars for the goal of putting two white men on the moon, while black Americans struggle to receive equal treatment. Despite the increased efforts at recruiting black people to NASA, the workforce still hasn’t progressed enough to offer black people an equal opportunities. There are some encouraging developments though, a black actor plays the role of an astronaut on the popular television show Star Trek. Nichelle Nichols plays the role of Lieutenant Uhura in the show, and she is urged to remain on the show by Martin Luther King Jr who tells her that seeing a black person in space meant a lot to the black youth of America, even if the show is just fictional. Katherine watches the launch of Apollo 11 in the Poconos with her college friends. She reflects on the changes that her life had undergone through all those years, where once she had been a young girl following around her father as he worked at the Greenbrier. Now, she finds herself among her friends at a relaxing resort watching the first landing of the moon, a mission that she had helped make successful through her work at Langley.

Analysis

In this final section of the book, the reader learns of the changes that took place in the lives of black people around America as the Civil Rights movement began to make progress. These developments are indicated through the advances that black women make in their professional as well as personal lives. Katherine’s inclusion in the report as an author is a significant development, as it allows her to claim credit for the work that she has been so diligently fulfilling for NASA. Her skills are then further recognized by John Glenn’s request that she confirm the calculations that have been made by the IBM machines at NASA. On the other hand, Mary’s successful run at the Soap Box derby indicates the opening of new windows of opportunity for young black children, that had once been closed to them due to their race. Moreover, Levi Jr’s proud declaration that he would like to grow up to be an engineer like his mother represents a personal victory for her as she can teach her son to look beyond gender.

Conversely, there are several instances in this last section that reveal the less-than-perfect situation for black people in America. John Glenn’s reference to Katherine as “the girl” is perhaps the most poignant indication that there is still a long way to go in achieving racial equality.