![]() “My dad taught us, ‘You are as good as anybody in this town, but you’re no better,’” she said. Despite the social pressure, Johnson always saw herself as an equal and made sure that others treated her as such. Her self-assurance was certainly needed- this period in our country’s history was rabid with sexist attitudes toward women in the work place, and professional prospects were even worse for black women. “A NASA mathematician, Johnson’s computations have influenced every major space program from Mercury through the Shuttle program… Johnson exhibited exceptional technical leadership and is known especially for her calculations of the 1961 trajectory for Alan Shepard’s flight (first American in space), the 1962 verification of the first flight calculation made by an electronic computer for John Glenn’s orbit (the first American to orbit the Earth), and the 1969 Apollo 11 trajectory to the moon,” the White House said in the Medal of Freedom press release. Johnson is a pioneer in American space history. “We’re going to get Mama to the ceremony, if it kills us…We’re renting a van and already have our hotel reservations.” Katherine G. ![]() Travel can be complicated for the 97-year-old badass, but her daughter is ensuring that she gets this moment of honor. Johnson’s hard work and life-long passion for mathematical innovation at NASA is being honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, which will be presented to her on November 24th. ![]() Johnson, a love of math, coupled with positive self-assurance and sprinkled with a little tenacity, led to a life of ground-breaking accomplishments.
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