The lessons I’ve learned from Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson could fill another book. Her generosity in sharing her life story with me has changed my life, and for that I will be forever grateful.
Most of this book was written in Valle de Bravo, Mexico; my thanks to all the friends who offered support and encouragement each day. I’m indebted to my “kitchen cabinet,” the people who over the course of the last six years have helped me carry this project over the finish line. Most of this book was written in Valle de Bravo, Mexico. My thanks to all of the friends there who offered daily encouragement and support, especially Marcela Diaz, Jim Duncan, Larry Peterson and Sabine Persicke. Particular mention must go to Margot Lopez who generously lent me her studio whenever I needed a quiet place to meet a deadline. Melanie Adams, Jeffrey Harris, Regina Oliver, Chadra Pittman, and Danielle Wynn have been my hometown cheering squad, never too busy to share contacts, suggestions, or a sympathetic ear. Susan Hand Shetterly, Robert Shetterly, Gail Page, and Caitlin Shetterly never failed to provide insights, wonderful meals, and quiet writing nooks. My siblings Ben Lee, Lauren Lee Colley, and Jocelyn Lee have been a constant source of inspiration, memories, and encouragement.
From our very first conversation, my literary agent, Mackenzie Brady Watson, has been one of Hidden Figures’ greatest champions. Her expansive vision and business instincts have helped give this story a platform beyond anything I could have imagined.
As the child of a Hampton University English professor and a NASA research scientist, it was probably inevitable that I would eventually write a book about scientists. Drs. Margaret G. Lee and Robert B. Lee III have made telephone calls on my behalf, set up interviews, arranged meetings, scoured their memories for names and events, offered context and suggestions for telling the history, attended my presentations, made early morning and late-night runs to the airport, received packages, graciously allowed me to turn their home into an office, and supported my writing in countless other ways. Mommy and Daddy, I love you more than words can ever say.
Finally, no one has given more to this project than my husband, Aran Shetterly. He has read every version of Hidden Figures starting with the very first draft of the book proposal, improving it at every step along the way with his fierce intelligence and editorial savvy. His experience as a writer and researcher has been invaluable in terms of helping me figure out how to plumb archives for the details that turn history into narrative and bring an untold story to life. For the last twelve years, he has been my sounding board, confidant, closest advisor, and partner in all things, and Hidden Figures would not have happened without his support. For everything, Aran: my boundless respect, deepest gratitude, and endless love.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SOURCES
Archival Sources
Daily Press Archives, Newport News Library, Main Street Branch, Newport News, Virginia. Available as microfiche only.
Farmville Herald Archives, Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia. Available as microfiche only.
Hampton University Archives, Hampton, Virginia.
Langley Research Center Archives, Hampton, Virginia.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration History Office, Washington, DC (NASA HQ). http://history.nasa.gov/hqinventory.pdf.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Regional Facilities:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Records of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (RG 255); Records of the US Civil Service Commission (RG 146); Records of the War Manpower Commission (RG 211).
College Park, Maryland: Records of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Records of the US Department of Education; Records of the Fair Employment Practices Commission.
Fort Worth, Texas: Records of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (RG 255), Project Mercury Working Paper Series, nos. 104, 106, 191, 207, 212, and 217.
St. Louis, Missouri: National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). NPRC documents for deceased Civil Service employees available upon written request. All personnel records cited in the text came from this archive.
West Virginia State University Archives, Institute, West Virginia.
Online Sources
Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com was the source for Census Bureau data; marriage, birth, and death records; and local telephone directories.
Baltimore Afro-American. Archive accessed through Google Books.
“Hampton Roads Embarkation Series, 1942–1946,” US Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection, Library of Virginia (HRE), http://www.lva.virginia.gov/exhibits/treasures/arts/art-m12.htm.
The History Makers. This searchable video archive is dedicated to the oral histories of prominent contemporary African Americans. Interviews consulted for the book include Christine Darden, Katherine Johnson, Woodrow Whitlow, and James E. West; http://www.thehistorymakers.com/taxonomy/term/7298.
Johnson Space Center Oral History Project (JSC), http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/oral_histories.htm. Oral histories consulted in this collection include Harold Beck, John Becker, Jerry Bostick, Stefan Cavallo, Gloria Champine, Beverly Swanson Cothren, Annie Easley, John H. Glenn, Jane Hess, Claiborne Hicks, Shirley H. Hinson, Eleanor Jaehnig, Harriet Jenkins, Eldon Kordes, Christopher Kraft, Mary Ann Johnson, Dorothy B. Lee, Glynn Lunney, Charles Matthews, Catherine T. Osgood, Emil Schiesser, Alan Shepard, Milton Silveira, and Ruth Hoover Smull.
NASA History Series publications (NH). NASA’s lineup of history publications is nothing short of spectacular. Most, including each publication in the list of books below, are available for free in PDF and ebook formats at http://history.nasa.gov/series95.html.
NASA Langley Archives Collection (LAC), http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Langley_Archives_Collection. The following resources were consulted: Langley Employee Newsletters (LMAL Bulletin (1942–1944); Air Scoop (1945–1962); Langley Researcher (1963–present)); Langley telephone directories; Oral Histories and Interviews (oral histories and interviews consulted for the book include Ira Abbott, John Becker, Sherwood Butler, T. Melvin Butler, Mary Jackson, W. Kemble Johnson, Arthur Kantrowitz, and Pearl Young); P-51 Mustang Archives Collection; and Langley Historic Site and Building pages.
NASA Langley Youtube channel. Videos consulted on this channel include interviews with Christine Darden, W. Hewitt Philipps, Richard Whitcomb, and group interviews with former computers (When Computers Were Human and Panel Discussion with Women Computers, moderated by James R. Hansen).
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), http://ntrs.nasa.gov/. This fully searchable database contains most of the research reports produced by the NACA and NASA from their inception to the present day.
National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLN). This video archive houses interviews with prominent African Americans over the age of seventy. Interviews consulted include Oliver Hill and Katherine Johnson.
New York Age. Archives accessed through Newspapers.com.
Norfolk Journal and Guide. Archives accessed through the Library of Virginia website, http://www.lva.virginia.gov/.
Pittsburgh Courier. Archives accessed through Newspapers.com.
PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
John Becker, Lynchburg, VA.
George M. Brooks, Newport News, VA.
Thomas Byrdsong, Newport News, VA; October 4, 2014.
Gloria R. Champine, Newport News, VA; January 24, 2014; April 2, 2014.
Robert S. Conte, White Sulphur Springs, WV.
Christine M. Darden, Hampton, VA; May 3, 2012.
Joylette Hylick Goble, Mount Laurel, NJ.
Ann Vaughan Hammond, Hampton, VA; April 2, 2014; June 30, 2014.
Miriam Mann Harris, Winston-Salem, NC.
Jane Hess, Newport News, VA.
Wythe Holt, Hampton, VA: July 20, 2014.
Wanda Jackson, Hampton; VA.
Eleanor Jaehnig.
James A. Johnson, Newport News, VA; June 11, 2011.
Janice Johnson, Hampton, VA; April 3, 2014.
Katherine G. Johnson, Newport News, VA; December 27, 2010; March 6, 2011; March 11, 2011; September 17, 2011; September 27, 2011; September 27, 2013.