HAMPTON, VIRGINIA, 1953
The girls go to Sunday school
at Carver Presbyterian Church, where Katherine joins
the choir. Jimmie takes a job
painting in the shipyard, which pays more than teaching.
Before leaving their new house, Katherine pulls on
cotton gloves and her church hat, twists around to check
that the seams in her stockings are straight.
Katherine is qualified for the job. After a desk opens
in the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, she’s welcomed
by Mrs. Dorothy Vaughan, who’s worked here
since jobs opened to Black women during the war.
Now she’s in charge of a dozen women called computers
who sit before clicking calculators
that cover almost half of each desk.
The women cheerfully check one another’s math
and manners. No one must be late or untidy.
The hems of their skirts should be a proper length,
their hair smoothed or pinned down. Katherine knows
that if fault is found with one, they’ll all look bad.