Novel: Hidden Figures – Chapter 11

Author: Margot Lee Shetterly

The Area Rule – Summary

Chapter 11 of “Hidden Figures” describes the computing work at Langley’s West and East Areas in the 1950s. Dorothy Vaughan managed a steady stream of computing jobs, dispatching incoming assignments to the women in her office and sending her computers out to various engineering groups located in the vicinity. Mary Jackson was sent to work on a project alongside several white computers on the East Side and experienced segregation when she asked for directions to the bathroom. The incident demoted Mary from a professional mathematician to a second-class human being, reminding her that she was a black girl. The chapter highlights the daily negotiation of racial boundaries faced by African Americans in the workplace.

Mary Jackson runs into Kazimierz Czarnecki, an assistant section head in the Four-by-Four-Foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, after a frustrating day at work due to racial discrimination. She drops her mask of subversion and vents to Czarnecki, who offers her a job. Jackson is known for being forthright and intuitive, and her outpouring to Czarnecki ends up being the turning point of her career.

Technological advancements occurred at Langley laboratory in the 1940s and 1950s, including the development of slotted walls in wind tunnels and the Area Rule, which reduced drag on aircrafts and increased their speed. These breakthroughs had practical applications in aviation and earned Langley several Collier Trophies. The article highlights the hands-on nature of the work at Langley and the importance of practical solutions to real-world problems.

Dorothy Hoover was a female aeronautical researcher who worked at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and thrived in the Stability Analysis Division. In 1951, she achieved the title of aeronautical research scientist, graded GS-9. She published two reports in 1951 with other notable researchers analyzing the swept-back wings that were a standard feature of production aircraft. Theoretical aerodynamics was a productive environment for women, and Hoover, along with at least three other women, published reports with the group between 1947 and 1951. In 1952, Hoover took a leave of absence to pursue a master’s degree in mathematics and enrolled in the University of Michigan under a John Hay Whitney Fellowship.

Mary Jackson embraced her job at the NACA and became a “Langley lifer” with a passion for math and science. She met James Williams, Langley’s first black engineer hired to work there, on her first day of work. Williams had a difficult time being accepted by white supervisors, but John D. Bird offered him a position in the Stability Research Division. Some of Williams’s colleagues were not supportive, and one teased him about how long he would last at the job. The black male engineers hired by Langley had a more solitary work life and faced aggressions that the black women did not. However, the black women had broken Langley’s color barrier, paving the way for the black men now being hired, but they still had to fight for the title of engineer, something that the black men could take for granted.

Mary Jackson, a former West Computer, was given an assignment by John Becker, the chief of the Compressibility Division, at the Four-by-Four-Foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel. When Becker challenged her calculations, Jackson stood by her numbers, and they discovered that the problem was with his input. This episode earned Jackson a reputation as a smart mathematician who could contribute more than just calculations. The women computers at Langley were highly skilled in mathematics and were known for their accuracy, speed, and insight. However, the ability to defend their work in front of incisive aeronautical minds and stand up to pressure marked them as individuals who should move ahead.

Questions:

What event prompted Mary to accept an offer to work with Kaz Czarnecki?

Mary’s encounter with racial segregation in the workplace’s bathroom prompted her to accept an offer to work with Kaz Czarnecki. While working on the East Side of Langley on a project with several white computers, Mary asked the white women for directions to the bathroom, but they responded with giggles, showing her that the nearest bathroom was unmarked and only available to the white women. This demoted Mary from a professional mathematician to a second-class human being, reminding her that she was a black girl whose piss wasn’t good enough for the white pot. As Mary was fuming and walking back to West Computing later that day, she ran into Kazimierz Czarnecki, who heard her vent about the incident. He then offered her a job, and Mary did not hesitate to accept it, which marked the turning point of her career.

What kind of disagreement did Mary and John Becker have? Do you think it is a moment that Mary will use as motivation in the future?

Mary Jackson and John Becker had a disagreement over the accuracy of Mary’s calculations. John Becker had given Mary instructions for working through the calculations, and Mary delivered the finished assignment to him just as she completed her work for Dorothy Vaughan. However, when Becker reviewed the output, he challenged Mary’s numbers, insisting that her calculations were wrong. Mary Jackson stood by her numbers, and they went back and forth over the data until they isolated the discrepancy. It became clear that the problem wasn’t with her output but with Becker’s input. Finally, John Becker apologized to Mary Jackson.

This episode earned Mary Jackson a reputation as a smart mathematician who might be able to contribute more than just calculations to her new group. Her showdown with John Becker was the kind of gambit that the laboratory expected, encouraged, and valued in its promising male engineers. Mary Jackson, a former West Computer, had faced down the brilliant John Becker and won. It was a cause for quiet celebration and behind-the-scenes thumbs-up among all the female computers.

Mary Jackson will use this moment as motivation in the future because having the independence of mind and the strength of personality to defend one’s work in front of the most incisive aeronautical minds in the world is a rare quality that marks one as someone who should move ahead.

What is the Area Rule? How did it impact everyday aviation?

The “Area Rule” is a design principle used in the field of aerodynamics, which was developed by Richard T. Whitcomb in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Area Rule had a significant impact on everyday aviation, particularly on supersonic flight. By designing an aircraft with a smooth and continuous area distribution, the drag can be reduced, and the speed of the aircraft can be increased.

However, the implementation of this theory in everyday aviation was hindered by the racial segregation that existed at Langley. In Chapter 11 of “Hidden Figures,” Mary Jackson, a talented mathematician and engineer, experienced segregation when she asked for directions to the bathroom on the East Side of the facility where she was working on a project alongside several white computers. This incident demoted Mary from a professional mathematician to a second-class human being, reminding her that she was a black girl. This example highlights the daily negotiation of racial boundaries faced by African Americans in the workplace and how segregation affected the development and implementation of ground-breaking theories like the Area Rule.

Active Themes:

Racism and Inequality:

• Mary Jackson experiences segregation when she is sent to work on a project alongside several white computers on the East Side and is demoted from a professional mathematician to a second-class human being. She is reminded that she is a black girl and is faced with daily negotiations of racial boundaries in the workplace.
• James Williams, Langley’s first black engineer, has a difficult time being accepted by white supervisors, and one of his colleagues teased him about how long he would last at the job. Black male engineers hired by Langley had a more solitary work life and faced aggressions that the black women did not.

Community:

• Dorothy Vaughan managed a steady stream of computing jobs, dispatching incoming assignments to the women in her office and sending her computers out to various engineering groups located in the vicinity.
• Mary Jackson met James Williams, Langley’s first black engineer hired to work there, on her first day of work, and they developed a friendship over their shared experiences as black employees at Langley.

Luck, Persistent Action, and Hard Work:

• Mary Jackson’s outpouring to Kazimierz Czarnecki, an assistant section head in the Four-by-Four-Foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, ends up being the turning point of her career.
• Dorothy Hoover achieved the title of aeronautical research scientist and published reports with the group between 1947 and 1951. In 1952, Hoover took a leave of absence to pursue a master’s degree in mathematics and enrolled in the University of Michigan under a John Hay Whitney Fellowship.

Scientific Progress vs. Social and Political Progress:

• Technological advancements occurred at Langley laboratory in the 1940s and 1950s, including the development of slotted walls in wind tunnels and the Area Rule, which reduced drag on aircrafts and increased their speed. These breakthroughs had practical applications in aviation and earned Langley several Collier Trophies.
• Despite the scientific progress being made at Langley, there was still a lack of social and political progress, and black employees had to fight for equal treatment and job titles. The black women at Langley had broken Langley’s color barrier, paving the way for the black men being hired, but they still had to fight for the title of engineer, something that the black men could take for granted.

Names mentioned in Chapter 11

James Williams: He was the first African-American engineer hired by Langley Laboratory. Williams was initially met with hostility from white supervisors, but he eventually earned the respect of his colleagues and made significant contributions to aeronautical research.

John Glenn: He was an American astronaut and senator who made history as the first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn’s successful mission was made possible in part by the precise calculations of Katherine Johnson.

Kazimierz Czarnecki: He was an assistant section head in the Four-by-Four-Foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel at Langley Laboratory. Czarnecki offered Mary Jackson a job after she vented to him about the racial discrimination she experienced at work.