Hidden Figures' Most Important Characters

Katherine Johnson, who is a very important and main character in the story and movie “Hidden Figures” is a passionate, outspoken black mathematician who works in the Flight Research Division at the Langley Research Center. An accuracy portrayed in the movie, from the book, was the amount of racism Katherine Johnson was facing. To begin with, since blacks did not attend school after 8th grade unless their parents could afford to send them, Katherine’s father made sure she could continue her education. 

He went to great lengths and expense to be sure all his four children could attend school. Her own determination to pursue her dreams and her father’s effort to keep his children in school helped her to overcome gender and race discrimination from others. In the book, it talks about how by Katherine joining the segregated NACA workforce in 1953, she refuses to use the colored bathrooms or to allow prejudice to make her feel any less. In the book, it states, “When she first took the job, she didn’t realize the bathrooms were segregated. Not every building had a “colored” bathroom and the ones for the white women were unmarked. As far as Katherine was concerned, there were no reasons why she shouldn’t use the unmarked bathrooms as well.” (Shetterly 107). Though she comes up against racism more than once at the NACA, she maintains her personality and manages to charm and impress everyone she comes into contact with, without losing sight of her dedication to her work. One of the scenes in the movie “Hidden Figures” centers around a bathroom. 

Katherine Johnson is transferred to a new building, where there are no bathrooms for black women. So every time she needs to “relieve herself”, she has to run across the campus to a building with a “Colored” bathroom. Her white boss discovers this only when Katherine returns to her desk from a bathroom break, drenched after running for half an hour in the rain. She then gives a speech about how she has to go half a mile just to use the bathroom because of the lack of colored bathrooms in the building she works in and how she isn't being treated equally. She says, “There are no colored bathrooms in this building or in any building outside the west campus, which is half a mile away.” (Johnson Hidden Figures). Her boss is filled with shock, apparently having been unaware racism was taking place under his nose. So he picks up a crowbar, heads to the bathroom, and smashes the Colored Ladies Room sign. Then, he delivers a powerful message, “No more colored restrooms. No more white restrooms… Here at NASA, we all pee the same color.” (Hidden Figures). In addition, Katherine Johnson found her work very interesting, just like the men there did. The problem was that women had to get over the high hurdle of low expectations and they needed to prove that they were just as good as men and should be held to the same standards and given the same opportunities. Katherine always wanted to attend the meetings. She would always ask her colleagues, “Why can’t I go to the editorial meetings?” (Johnson 142). Then finally, one of the men said: “Let her go”. 

In the book, it states, “ In 1958, Katherine Globe finally made it into the editorial meetings of the Guidance and Control Branch at Langley’s Flight Research Division,... She took her place at the table, where she knew she belonged,” (Shetterly 144). This certain part from the book is also very similar to a scene in the movie where Katherine argues with a colleague of hers to let her attend the meeting. Her boss then enters the room and asks what’s going on, she then proceeds to say, “Mr. Harrison I would like to attend today’s briefing.” (Johnson Hidden Figures). Paul Stafford, her colleague the proceeds to say, “She is a woman, there is no protocol for a woman attending those meetings.” (Hidden Figures). Throughout the book and movie Katherine Johnson proceeds to prove others wrong and continues to do what she’s best at. Dorothy Vaughan, who is also one of the main characters in “Hidden Figures” is a strong-minded, black mathematician who joins Langley as a human-computer in 1943 and then works her way up to become the organization’s first black section head. Dorothy Vaughan’s character is portrayed in two similar ways in comparison to the book and the movie. Firstly, at the NACA, Dorothy climbs from computer to section head, supervising the onboarding and placement of computers who go on to become leaders in their fields. In the book, it talks about Dorothy waiting for then finally receiving the promotion she always wanted. It says, “Her promotion was made official when a memo circulated in January 1951: ‘Effective this date, Dorothy J. Vaughan, who has been acting head of West Area Computers unit, is hereby appointed head of that unit.’ ” (Shetterly 74). In the movie, it shows a scene where Ms.Mitchell finally accepts Dorothy as an equal when she gives her the promotion she always dreamed about. Equally important, the book, talks about how Dorothy is extremely devoted to church and her children. It also talks about Dorothy leaving home. It states, “Dorothy Vaughan rode Greyhound bus 137 miles from Farmville to Newport News, Virginia. While on the bus she had plenty of time to think. ... How would she endure the time away from the children and family?... Her country needed her, and she was ready and eager to do her part to support the war effort and her family.” (Shetterly 29). 

Taking this job as a mathematician at the NACA means leaving her small town and her family, something that she is terrified of. Although, she embraces and appreciates the opportunity given to her to make money to support herself alongside her family. In the movie, they show a similar scene to Dorothy leaving her home to pursue her dreams.