NCW Libraries

"Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in...

"When Mary Jackson was growing up, she thought being an engineer was impossible for her. Why? After all, she was fantastic at math and science. She worked really hard to learn all she could in school. Why did this smart little girl think she couldn't be an engineer? Elementary aged readers explore America's history of segregation through the life of Mary Jackson, who overcame challenges to become the first African American women to work at NASA!...

"From World War II through NASA's golden age, four African American women confidently acourageouslysly stepped into the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (now known as NASA). Their job? To provide the mathematical calculations that would help increase airplane production during wartime and eventually send the united states into space for the very first time. During this time of racial and gender inequality, these women used their mathematical...