Baylee Parsons is the executive editor of The Parthenon and a graduating senior in the School of Journalism & Mass Communications.<\/p>\n
As the first American man orbited the Earth in 1962, celebrations of progress and advancement rang out across the country, yet the woman whose calculations took him to space found herself in an office full of people who did not look like her, in a society that oppressed those who did. Before computers started solving America\u2019s problems at the touch of a button, there was Katherine Johnson, the human computer who worked tirelessly to not only lead NASA\u2019s efforts in space exploration during the Cold War but also the government agency\u2019s eventual desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement.1<\/sup> While Johnson\u2019s contributions were not nationally recognized at the time they were made, the 2016 film Hidden Figures skyrocketed her story\u2019s popularity, acknowledging her as one of the most significant mathematicians in NASA history and one of the most influential Black women in American history, nearly 60 years later. With the 100th anniversary of Black History Month and the 10-year anniversary of the film approaching in 2026, Johnson\u2019s story invites us to challenge conventional understandings of patriotism as blind loyalty or national pride. By serving a country she believed in when the country did not believe in her, the trailblazer\u2019s life\u2019s work redefines patriotism as the active participation in moving America toward its ideals.<\/p>\n While Johnson\u2019s achievements at NASA are certainly notable, she was no stranger to making history when she arrived. Johnson was born as Creola Katherine Coleman on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, to Joylette and Joshua Coleman, a teacher and a farmer determined all four of their children would complete college.2<\/sup> Not only did Johnson graduate from West Virginia State College, but she also did so by the age of 18 and obtained degrees in both mathematics and French. Furthermore, she was one of three black students chosen to integrate West Virginia University\u2019s graduate programs in 1939, making her the first Black woman to do so.3<\/sup> Although she did not complete graduate school, Johnson\u2019s educational background defied the odds for Black women of her time, exemplifying her drive to advance society.<\/p>\n Johnson moved to Newport News, Virginia, in 1953 and accepted a job at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics \u2013 now known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration \u2013 as a \u201ccomputer\u201d the same year. Jim Crow Law was still enacted at this time, segregating Black Americans in nearly all facets of the public sector and leaving tensions high in the formerly Confederate state, which became known for the NAACP\u2019s resistance against segregation.4<\/sup> When Johnson began working at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, NACA had only recently started hiring Black women as computers, and the institution confined them to their own unit: the West Area Computers. Although the West Computers did the same work as their white counterparts, they were paid less, and it was more difficult for them to get raises or recognition.5<\/sup> Other countries recognized the difference between how the United States portrayed itself globally and what the country demonstrated domestically. The Soviet Union, for instance, called the United States hypocritical for claiming to be \u201cmorally superior… while actively oppressing its Black and brown populations.\u201d6<\/sup><\/p>\n An act of resilience in the face of injustice, Johnson boldly stepped into an office full of white men, unsure of what was to come for her but hopeful of what could come for the country. After only two weeks of working in the West Area Computing Unit, Johnson was assigned to the Flight Research Division at Langley, where she remained several more years because of her excellent work.7<\/sup> During her tenure at NASA, Johnson was the first Black female employee \u2013 and, in many cases, the first female employee of any race \u2013 to earn a number of achievements at the aeronautical agency. As a mathematician in the early 1960s, Johnson calculated the trajectory analysis for the orbital mission of John Glenn, who had come to trust Johnson\u2019s work so well that he requested the engineers \u201cget the girl\u201d to verify computer results before his launch.8<\/sup> Johnson\u2019s calculations also guided the Apollo 11 crew\u2019s path to the moon in 1969, securing the United States\u2019 win in the Space Race. Her dedication to these missions illustrates a form of patriotism grounded not in personal recognition but in service to a national vision of exploration and progress. Johnson\u2019s excellence became both a professional triumph as well as a quiet act of resistance for the Black community, proving that building a better America often begins with the unacknowledged labor of those excluded from its promises.<\/p>\n Although NACA abolished its segregated facilities when it became NASA in 1958, the Civil Rights Act was not signed into law until 1964. While Black Americans across the South took to the streets to fight for their rights through protest, Johnson fought against racial and gender barriers more subtly. When her workplace was segregated, she simply \u201crefused to obey segregated bathroom rules and avoided eating in the segregated cafeteria,\u201d opting to eat lunch at her desk instead.9<\/sup> Even once her workplace was desegregated, Johnson\u2019s commitment to showing up daily and working toward the betterment of her country demonstrates an act of quiet resistance through excellence. Rather than protesting through confrontation, she wielded her intellect as a tool of transformation, asserting that Black women \u2013 long excluded from the national narrative \u2013 were indispensable to the country\u2019s progress. Thus, Johnson\u2019s story embodies a patriotic ideal that demands equity: she loved her country enough to devote her life\u2019s work to improving it.<\/p>\n After more than 30 years of assisting the country in its aeronautical advancements, Katherine Johnson retired from NASA in 1986. On February 24, 2020, Johnson died at the age of 101 years old. In the years preceding her death, Hidden Figures premiered and told her life story, NASA named buildings in her honor, and President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, citing her as a \u201cpioneering example of African American women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.\u201d10<\/sup> Half a century after Johnson\u2019s calculations made reaching the stars possible, she was finally recognized for her achievements. These belated honors represent a more recent effort in society to reclaim history and to broaden the standards of who can be seen as an American hero.<\/p>\n February 2026 not only marks six years since Johnson\u2019s passing but also 100 years since the birth of Black History Month. As the United States approaches this milestone, Johnson\u2019s story is one of many that should be celebrated, and, in this digital age, her contributions to the fields of STEM cannot be ignored. Her brilliance not only advanced space exploration but also expanded the nation\u2019s moral and cultural horizons, making it possible for future generations of Black women to excel in innovative fields. Johnson\u2019s loyalty to her country amidst marginalization serves as a reminder that being a patriot takes more than having pride; it takes the courage to pursue a more perfect union. As we celebrate a century of Black excellence, Johnson\u2019s legacy inspires a broader, more inclusive mindset for the future of Black history: one where individuals who strengthen the nation are recognized for their contributions in the present, not after they\u2019ve become hidden figures.<\/p>\n 1. Lee Boomer, \u201cLife Story: Katherine Johnson,\u201d Women & the American Story, January 2, 2025, https:\/\/wams.nyhistory.org\/growth-and-turmoil\/cold-war-beginnings\/katherine-johnson\/.<\/p>\n 2. Boomer, \u201cLife Story.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. Margot Lee Shetterly, \u201cKatherine Johnson Biography,\u201d NASA, November 22, 2016, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/langley\/katherine-johnson-biography\/.<\/p>\n 4. \u201cJim Crow to Civil Rights in Virginia,\u201d Virginia Museum of History and Culture, accessed October 21, 2025, https:\/\/virginiahistory.org\/learn\/jim-crow-civil-rights-virginia.<\/p>\n 5. Clint Parks, \u201cNASA\u2019s West Area Computers,\u201d National Geographic, December 18, 2024, https:\/\/education.nationalgeographic.org\/resource\/nasas-west-area-computers\/.<\/p>\n 6. Parks, \u201cNASA\u2019s West Area Computers.\u201d<\/p>\n 7. Shetterly, \u201cKatherine Johnson Biography.\u201d<\/p>\n 8. Shetterly, \u201cKatherine Johnson Biography.\u201d<\/p>\n 9. Boomer, \u201cLife Story.\u201d<\/p>\n 10. Michael Asbury, \u201cKatherine Johnson\u2019s Continuing Legacy at IV&V, Beyond,\u201d NASA, August 25, 2023, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/katherine-johnsons-continuing-legacy-at-ivv-beyond\/.<\/p>\n As I conducted research for this essay, I had the opportunity to not only learn more about a national hero but also an intellectual woman from West Virginia. Although I am not pursuing a career in STEM, as a fellow female raised in West Virginia, I am inspired by Johnson\u2019s story and saddened to see how little it is celebrated even in her home state. Like many, prior to Hidden Figures, my knowledge of Katherine Johnson was limited, having not learned about her in the public school system. My research for this essay exposed me to Johnson\u2019s accomplishments prior to her work at NASA, which were also accomplishments for the state of West Virginia. Furthermore, by researching Johnson myself in addition to watching the movie, I was able to gain a better understanding of her contributions to STEM and of how crucial her role was in a number of missions at NASA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Baylee Parsons is the executive editor of The Parthenon and a graduating senior in the School of Journalism & Mass Communications. Counting on Freedom: Katherine Johnson\u2019s Equation for a More Perfect Union As the first American man orbited the Earth in 1962, celebrations of progress and advancement rang out across the country, yet the woman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":255,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1309","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/woodsonlyceum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/woodsonlyceum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/woodsonlyceum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/woodsonlyceum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/255"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/woodsonlyceum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1309"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/woodsonlyceum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1316,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/woodsonlyceum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1309\/revisions\/1316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/woodsonlyceum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Notes<\/h3>\n
Statement<\/h3>\n