Katherine Johnson Essay

In the book Hidden Figures written by Margot Lee Shetterly, Katherine Johnson is one of the main characters. Known as a human computer working for NASA. Katherine is a very smart woman who graduated from college when she was 18 years old and when she was 10 years old she attended high school. She is one of the first African Americans to work for NASA. She would work on some of the hardest calculations and would still find ways to solve them. She was a very hard worker but did not get credit for what she did because she is African American, she made history.

In the 1960’s, black and white individuals were not recognized as being equal. The two races were treated differently, and the African Americans did not enjoy the same freedoms as the whites. The African Americans never had a chance to speak their mind, voice their opinions, or enjoy the same luxuries that the white people attained. Through various actions/efforts like the lunch counter sit-ins, freedom rides, and bus boycotts, the black people confronted segregation face on and worked to achieve equality and freedom.

Elbert Frank Cox was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. As of today he receives a little recognition as he did back in his days. Yet some may ask: How was his early life? What were his mathematical achievements? Although many African American men made contributions to the mathematical world like the self taught Benjamin Banneker(d.1806), the first African American to teach in a predominantly white college Charles Lewis Reason(d.1893), the first African American to attend John Hopkins University Kelly Miller(d.1939), and many more great African American mathematicians. Elbert Frank Cox was a phenomenal African American mathematician and pioneer

Elbert Frank Cox was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. As of today he receives a little recognition as he did back in his days. Yet some may ask: How was his early life? What were his mathematical achievements? Although many African American men made contributions to the mathematical world like the self taught Benjamin Banneker(d.1806), the first African American to teach in a predominantly white college Charles Lewis Reason(d.1893), the first African American to attend John Hopkins University Kelly Miller(d.1939), and many more great African American mathematicians. Elbert Frank Cox was a phenomenal African American mathematician and pioneer

NO the question you should be asking yourself is why the hell have you done nothing to fix this issue, the things that have been happening to others because of many people discriminating them for how they look, for how they talk, for who they choose to be in life. In the 1960s this woman called Katherine Johnson was one of the first African American woman to work for Nasa, she worked as a Mathematician calculating the trajectories for many NASA missions and working with many people in this project which in many cases was hard for her 1. Her being a woman and 2. Her being African American, now these shouldn't be any reasons for her to fail or not be able to do it (right), well in her case it wasn't, it was the fact that many people doubted her, made fun fun of her skin color, and most of all her being equal to a man really made her get laughed at because everyone thought that she can’t do it, how can a woman be with such a high authority and equal with a man working for NASA, although many people did not agree with what she did however, with her working there for 33 years taking all the discrimination words she heard, brought eather to her face or in secret she toughened up and realized no matter how many things they say about me I will keep on going, she later on started proving everyone that she can do it she started solving various complex equations and multiple plans on what types of angles the ships should be held from, what speed to blast

Let me introduce you to a man named Elbert Frank Cox. Cox was a very skilled mathematician and through his ability in his field, changed how people may perceive African Americans and proved to people that your skin tone doesn't make you any more or less capable as anyone else. Being the first African-American man to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics represented much more than his intellectual power, but also that anyone can one day be just like him, if not better.

Being one of the first black women to receive a PhD in mathematics, she opened up the field to women, especially women of color, who were systematically drawn away from math because of the color of their skin or because of sexist exclusionary notions. Although her contributions to mathematics are seen more in a group effort, one cannot take away from the fact of her role as an inspiration to girls interested in the field of mathematics. With her widespread dedication to education and large investments of time for space programs, this woman was pivotal in challenging sexist and racist stereotypes that had held women like her back for years. She opened up positions for women of color in fields where they were never

Following the Civil War, the issue of slavery was no longer the primary concern of many Americans. Instead, many turned their attention to the growing cities, and in this the many challenges that arose in the development and increased aggregation of people in these condensed areas. Jane Addams, a privileged and educated daughter of a politician, called for social reform and created the first settlement house for immigrants in the United States, Hull House. From Addams’ experience working at Hull House educating and providing for the urban poor and their families, she began to understand the large divide between the older and younger generation’s backgrounds and lifestyles, along with their difficulties in managing finances and conforming to

Education has always been valued in the African American community. During slavery freed slaves and those held captive, organized to educate themselves. After emancipation the value of education became even more important to ex-slaves, as it was their emblem of freedom and a means to full participation in American Society (Newby & Tyack, 1971). During this time many schools for African Americans were both founded and maintained by African Americans. African Americans continued to provide education throughout their own communities well into the 1930’s (Green, McIntosh, Cook-Morales, & Robinson-Zanartu, 2005). The atmosphere of these schools resembled a family. The

A female African-American mathematician who contributed to mathematics was Janice E. Cook. Her birth and death date is unknown, however, she was born in New Orleans. She is one of seven children of Florence L. Cook and Henry Cook. Growing up, she admired her mother, who was an elementary teacher, describing her as an inspirational and heroic person in her life. After Janice completed her studies for the bachelor and masters degree she began a professional career in the corporate arena, however, she wasn’t satisfied. She later realized her true passion was in teaching mathematics as a teacher at the middle and high school levels. Once she determined her true educational passion in life, she continued her studies and gained her pre-doctoral

As children we are taught to love and accept other, however, this is not always the case. More often than not we never taught to love those different from us, instead we go on through life only loving those who are similar to us, our unintentional intolerance remaining uncorrected. Growing up without that nurturing hand teaching us to live in a world that is far more diverse than it has ever been, leaves us as intolerant and uneducated adults, whether it is, or is not, by our own doing. In American society, time and time again, the failure to practice what is preached in our so-called values has been our only success. From the segregation of African-Americans to the oppression of Women, and now the fearful and sometimes violent discrimination against LGBTQ oriented individuals is the nation’s most recent atrocity. By standardizing the image of what love and the human identity is to a typical heterosexual individual, society is limiting the diversity of the nation and degrading the lives of so many valuable people. What’s more is the fact that this intolerance that is permeating all levels of society is almost centralized in the most significant aspect of any society: its schools. Schools everywhere are ignoring the high concentration of LGBTQ discrimination by their students and even faculty. It is extremely hard to believe that this kind of behavior is tolerated in schools, not to mention the fact of its being taught in churches all across the nation. With

In 1919 at the tender age of two, Lena Horne made her first public appearance on the cover of the Branch Bulletin, a publication of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was touted as the organization’s youngest member. Lena would go on to become a noted singer, dancer and sex symbol. Not content to revel in her fame, Lena became an advocate for civil rights and the abolishment of segregation.

Many women have achieved in the mathematics field since the 1900’s. Especially women of color. No matter how young or old, these women have taken their careers in mathematics to an inspiring degree. Take the following women as examples, for they have created history in mathematics forever.

Johnson’s perseverance continues as she reaches a crossroads. She can sign one of two contracts to either continue teaching school, after over eighteen years, or accept a position as a mathematician at NASA. Ms. Johnson chooses the latter because of a prior professor’s suggestion that she become a research mathematician. She starts off in the West Area Computers section at the Langley Research Center. It is a pool of black women performing math calculations and required to use segregated dining and bathrooms.

Mathematics has always been described as the purest science and considered as one of the most important aspects in many countries around the world, especially developed countries. Theoretically, the most significant requirements for a life of a mathematician is the mathematical ability. Nevertheless, very few women get involve in this field, which creates a myth, and slowly develops into a stereotype in society, that women are naturally not good at math. However, many people would be surprised, that “the world’s greatest living mathematician for a time was a women” (Deakin 13). Hypatia of Alexandria was, indeed, a physically beautiful woman who used her talent and intelligence to defy the stereotypes against