Chapter 22 Summary: America is for Everybody

America is for Everybody

A US Department of Labor brochure issued in 1963 with the title "America is for Everybody" aimed to showcase social and economic progress of African Americans since the end of slavery.
The brochure featured a photograph of Catherine working at Langley, highlighting her work that contributed to sending an astronaut to the moon.
A. Philip Randolph organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, drawing participation from political, religious leaders, and singers.
On August 28, 1963, approximately 300,000 people marched in Washington, D.C., where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
Mahalia Jackson prompted King to share his dream, leading to a powerful and memorable speech that connected the African American dream with the American dream.
Dorothy Vaughn received recognition for her 20 years of service at Langley Research Center, symbolizing progress.
Despite these advancements, racial disparities persisted. In the early 1960s, among black employees at Langley, only a few were categorized as engineers or mathematicians.
Langley's director acknowledged the challenges in attracting African American applicants due to social segregation in the surrounding community.
In the mid-1960s, Langley intensified its recruitment efforts, leading to an increase in African American college students joining the research center.

Katherine Johnson was devoted to community service and church activities.
Katherine met Christine Mann Darden in 1967 after church, connecting through Katherine's daughter Joylette, who knew Christine from Hampton Institute.
Christine had been a math teacher and had earned her master's degree at Virginia State University.
Christine applied to NASA after a recommendation from her school's placement office and secured a position as a data analyst.
Christine connected with Katherine Johnson and other former West computers both at work and in the community.
Christine considered Katherine, Dorothy, and Mary as pioneers who inspired and guided her.
Katherine invited Christine to join the church choir, strengthening their bond.
Katherine remained modest about her accomplishments, attributing her success to simply doing her job.
Katherine shared both the joys of successful missions and the sorrows of failed ones.

Katherine Johnson, like others at NASA, was deeply affected by the Apollo 1 tragedy in January 1967, which claimed the lives of astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Gus Grissom due to an electrical fire.
The tragedy occurred during a ground test on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, prompting a redesign of the spacecraft to address the flaws that caused the fire.
NASA honored the deceased astronauts by learning from past failures and continuing future missions.
Each mission and experience provided crucial insights applicable to future flights.
Throughout the 1960s, the Apollo program progressed steadily toward its goal of a manned mission to the moon.
The mission to the moon, approximately 238,900 miles away, was expected to take six days, with three days for the journey and three days for the return.
The mission plan incorporated a 21-hour exploration of the moon's surface by two astronauts using the lunar lander, while the service module remained in orbit.

Katherine Johnson understood the risks involved in the Apollo 11 mission, including the potential for astronauts to be stranded in space if something went wrong.
Katherine considered her work on the mathematics coordinating the orbiting Apollo command and service module (CSM) and the lunar lander as a highlight of her NASA career.
The space task group set a risk standard of three nines, requiring a success rate of 999 out of 1,000 for every aspect of the program.
The astronauts were prepared to sacrifice their lives for the mission, but they did not want to die due to a math error.
Katherine Johnson worked long hours to ensure the safety of the astronauts, maintaining a demanding schedule.
She collaborated with engineers to address potential issues such as computer failures or electrical malfunctions by asking "what if" questions.
They proactively identified and resolved potential problems to safeguard the mission's success.