Katherine Johnson: Guiding Spacecraft

Katherine Johnson: Guiding Spacecraft — page 1
4 1 KATHERINE JOHNSON Katherine Johnson began her professional career as an elementary school and high school teacher in Virginia When she retired about 50 years later she was the mathematician who sent the first Americans into space Johnson helped break scientific barriers to space exploration She also broke racial and gender barriers Johnson's career took off when much of America was still segregated by race It was also a time when professional women were granted lower status than their male coworkers As an African American woman Johnson experienced the race and gender discrimination of her time But she refused to let it influence her opportunities If you lose your curiosity then you stop learning Katherine Johnson