withnumbersawedher.“Hecouldlookat
a tree,”shelatersaid,“andknowhowmany
boardsofwoodhecouldgetoutofit.”
TheColemanswantedtheir childrento
havethefinesteducationstheycouldand
encouragedthemtoapplythemselvestotheir
schoolwork.“You’reasgoodasanybody,”
Mr.Colemantoldhischildren,“butnobet-
ter.”Afterschool,Katherineandhersiblings
wouldsitaroundthekitchentabledoingtheir
homework.LittleKatherinewouldoftenfin-
ishhersfirst,thenhelpheroldersiblingswith
theirs.Alwayswantingtounderstandthesub-
jectsbeingtaughtat school,Katherinewasn’t
shyaboutraisingherhandinclasstoask
questions.“There’snosuchthingasa dumb
question,”she’dsaylater.“It’sonlydumbif
youdon’taskit.”
FormanyAfricanAmericanfamilieslike
theColemans,gettinga goodeducationat
thetimewasn’teasy.JimCrowlaws,enforced
intheUnitedStatesfromthelatenineteenth
centuryuntil1965,keptblackpeopleandwhitepeopleasseparateaspossibleinmany
facetsoflife,includingworkandleisure
activities,housing,andtransportation.
Schoolsweresegregated,too,andhighschools
forAfricanAmericanswerenotcommon.
MostAfricanAmericanchildren—including
thoseinWhiteSulphurSprings—found
attendinghighschooloutofreach.
Thatwasn’tgoingtostopMr.Coleman
frommakingsurehischildrencontinuedtheir
educations.Whenthetimecame,Katherine’s
fathermovedthefamilynearCharleston,
WestVirginia,tothetownofInstitute,where
anAfricanAmericanhighschoolhadbeen
established.Asthistownwaslocatedonehun-
dredandtwentymilesfromWhiteSulphur
Springs,Mr.Colemanreluctantlybidgoodbye
tohisfamilyduringtheschoolyear,remaining
behindtokeephisjobs.
Inhighschool,youngKatherinetook
advancedmathclassesanddevelopeda pas-
sionfortheFrenchlanguage.Shegraduated
at agefourteenandenteredhistoricallyblackKatherine sits at her desk,
with a mechanical calculat-
ing machine within reach, at
the NASA Langley Research
Center in 1962.20