Hidden Figures has inspired a renewed interest in the unnamed Black women who’ve made enormous contributions to our country. The three women and even the department of women shown in the movie don’t even touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Black women who have served, in various fields, with little reward or recognition for their work.
Yesterday, Raye Montague appeared on “Good Morning America” to share her own life story and chat about the similarities between her journey and the one that was shown on the screen.
Montague is known as the first person (man or woman, Black or White) to design a ship using a computer. She is credited with improving the design process on every single naval ship and submarine. She served as the first woman to become program manager of ships, which she said is the equivalent of being a CEO of a company. And is famously known for being tasked with designing a ship, using a program she developed, in a month’s time. Montague came back with the design in just under 19 hours.
“My mother told me when I was a very, little girl. ‘Raye you’ll have three strikes against you. You’re female and you’re Black and you’ll have a Southern, segregated school education. But you can do anything you want provided you’re educated.’”
During her sit down with Robin Roberts, Montague said that the opposition started early.
“Growing up in a segregated South, you never dream that these options are available to you. And I can remember wondering where am I going? What am I going to be? And when I was seven years old, my grandfather took me–this is during World War II–to see a German mini submarine that had been captured off of the coast of the Carolinas. And they let me go inside. And of course I saw the dials and mechanisms. And I said to the guy, ‘What do you have to know to do this?’ And he said, ‘Oh you have to be an engineer but you don’t ever have to worry about that.’ And I didn’t know I’d been insulted. So, I asked my mother to take me to find out what was required to become an engineer. And it was all the math and science. And, of course, I pursued that. But in the long run, I just never dreamed that I would be credited with achieving as much as I did.”
Raye mentioned that the Hidden Figures story is her own, but that the only difference was she didn’t have to walk a mile and a half to use the restroom.
She recalls her coworkers assuming that she was the help when she’d walk into a room.
“When I’d walk in the room, the guys always felt like ‘What’s she doing here?’ They always thought I was a part of the help. So as I walked into one room, the fellas looked at me and one of them said, ‘I’d like a cup of coffee.’ And I said, ‘So would I. Be sure mine has cream and sugar.”
Later during the segment, Janelle Monae showed up to present Mrs. Montague with flowers and thank her for her service to the country.
You can watch the interview in the video below.
Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter @VDubShrug.
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