Katherine’s work is fast and flawless.
Soon Dorothy tells her, The director of the flight research
division asked me to send my best mathematician
for a job that will take two weeks.
I haven’t been here much longer than that.
Katherine glances around at the women she talks
with at lunch about the new shirts that need
less ironing, what each plans to cook for supper.
I’ve never seen anyone work through numbers as quickly
as you, Dorothy says. And we’ve got a superior group here,
all with college math degrees. The white women
can keep data straight, but those computers don’t have
the education to see past what they’re told.
The research scientists come to our room for help.
Katherine picks up her handbag, says good-bye,
walks to another building. At the door to a big room,
she counts fifteen white men, three white women,
and one woman the same color as her.
On the chalkboard, she spots an equation grown too long
for paper. She swiftly follows its length and turns,
hears a quiet call to what’s yet to be known.