![]() ![]() When Vaughan arrives at Langley, overcrowding and Jim Crow laws have tensions running high, as the American Negro is conflicted in their search for the “double V” (victory abroad, over the Axis powers, and victory at home, over racism and inequality). Vaughan is a hardworking, frugal, brilliant high school mathematics teacher, mother of four (and later more), who applies to the job at Langley after seeing Butler’s multiple flyers for the position. ![]() Langley creates the “West Computers,” named for their segregated space in the West Area, and hires (among other mathematicians) Dorothy Vaughan. Shetterly knows many of these women and their families personally, and as she digs deeper into their stories, she discovers that there are hundreds upon hundreds of them, largely forgotten by history.īlack women were first hired at Langley during the height of WWII, when the NACA personnel manager at the time, Melvin Butler, faced enormous pressure to keep Langley properly staffed during wartime. Hidden Figures opens with a prologue in which the author, Margot Lee Shetterly, outlines her research into the women-particularly black women-who worked as “human computers” at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, from the 1940s on. This guide follows Shetterly's example, using the terms that Shetterly includes where she includes them. "Negro." "Colored." "Indian." "Girls." Though some readers might find the language of Hidden Figures discordant to their modern ears, I've made every attempt to remain true to the time period, and to the voices of the individuals represented in this story. Hidden Figuresbegins with the following author's note from Shetterly: ![]()
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