In 1962, three of NASA’s computer programmers used their brilliant work to send the first man in space, all while battling discrimination and inequality in their field. Despite the hardships, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Katherine Johnson went down in history as the three women who defied the odds as segregated African Americans. They proved to the world that anyone can succeed, no matter the circumstances or pushback from those around you. Society was against them, including the workers at NASA in their own workplace. It was a long and hard process, and everyone laughed when these 3 women said they wanted to be NASA computer programmers. Due to all the discrimination and segregation in the workplace, many of the NASA workers were opposed to the 3 even working there at first. They gave harsh looks, made rude comments, and made life living hell for the African American programmers. As presumed, they were hurt by these remarks and wanted to prove the white people wrong, that black women could succeed as NASA programmers. In fact, these 3 women were the most brilliant minds in the building, yet no one treated them like it. The white NASA workers had ignorant preconceptions about the African American programmers based on their skin color.

Segregation policies in NASA required African American programmers to relegate to the West wing, separated from the white programmers. The West wing even had its own bathrooms and cafeterias to keep the African American Women away from the white workers at all times. NASA’s demand for mathematicians spiked due to WWII, which is where these Women took jobs. Although in need, NASA still treated these new programmers differently than the white mathematicians, despite their obvious intellectual expertise. The West wing ran numbers for aircraft testing and flight research from the basement, providing their important services while still being neglected in the workplace. Oftentimes the women were given a book of equations and directed to solve them, without greater knowledge of the project. This work was revolutionary for technological advancements and pointing out mistakes in NASA’s aircrafts, yet their intellect was limited, being confined to their own subdivision. Even though the female programmers were just as intelligent as the male’s the wage gap between the two was significantly different. Segregation policies allowed males at NASA to have “professional” status, with an income of$ 2,600 annually, while the females were given a “sub-professional” title with an income of $1,440 annually.

Despite all of these challenges, the West wing programmers didn’t back down, and stood up for the discrimination they faced, until they were incorporated into NASA’s main analysis and computation division with all types of races and genders. This was only a few years after Dorothy Vaughan became head of the West wing computers subdivision. With the addition of the segregated workers into the main facility, NASA saw firsthand their expertise and many of the West wing workers outshined the other workers. They solved problems the white programmers couldn’t and shocked the division with their effortless problem-solving, which proved essential for NASA’s aircraft testing. These extraordinary West wing workers are the reason John Glenn was propelled into orbit, making history 1962. Dorothy Vaughn, Katherine Johnson, and Mary Jackson, along with the rest of the West wing women are a huge part of this history.