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My Remarkable Journey

Page 23

by Katherine Johnson


  Jimmie and I pose in front of our 1955 Chevy a few months after his brain surgery.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  Joylette and me after her high school graduation in 1958.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  Daddy stands outside St. James United Methodist Church, which he helped to build in White Sulphur Springs.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  This is one of my favorite photos of Jim and me.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  Jim and I took a family portrait with our girls.

  Reprinted with the permission of Lifetouch Portrait Studios Inc.

  At eighty-eight years old, I took boxing classes to stay in shape.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  President Barack Obama puts the Presidential Medal of Freedom around my neck, as I sit next to baseball great Willie Mays, who also was honored in 2015.

  Courtesy of The White House, 2015

  My family and I were honored in 2015 to meet President and Mrs. Obama at the White House (standing behind me, left to right: my grandsons Troy Hylick, Douglas Boykin, Michael Moore, and Gregory Boykin; President and Mrs. Obama; my daughters Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore; and my granddaughters Laurie Hylick Braxton and Michele Boykin Sanders).

  Courtesy of The White House, 2015

  I had retired from NASA by the time I got to know astronaut Leland Melvin, but he makes me so proud.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  My daughters, Joylette (far left) and Kathy (center), traveled to South Africa to accept an honorary doctorate degree for me from the University of Johannesburg.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  My family and I, along with NASA astronaut Dr. Yvonne Cagle (in khaki flight suit), prepare to board a private jet to go to the Oscars.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  These are the stunning ladies from the movie Hidden Figures: (left to right) Janelle Monáe (who played Mary), Taraji P. Henson (who played me), and Octavia Spencer (who played Dorothy), all on stage with me at the Oscars.

  Courtesy of the Johnson family

  About the Author

  KATHERINE JOHNSON, a West Virginia State University graduate, was a mathematician whose calculations of orbital trajectories for NASA were critical to the success of US spaceflights. Following her thirty-three years at NASA she has received many accolades, including a USAF Space Force GPS III satellite being named after her and thirteen honorary doctorate degrees. She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. She died in February 2020 at the age of 101.

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  Copyright

  MY REMARKABLE JOURNEY. Copyright © 2021 by Katherine Johnson. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Cover design by Stephen Brayda

  Cover photograph © Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

  First Amistad hardcover published 2021

  FIRST EDITION

  Digital Edition MAY 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-289769-5

  Version 04222021

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-289766-4

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