Langley Research Center

The Langley Research Center was the home of West Computing, the black women computers division. It is located in Hampton, Virginia. A great deal of early aeronautical research took place at Langley under NACA, which later became NASA. During World War II, the Langley Research Center was rapidly hiring employees to keep up with the demands for advances in air power as part of the war effort. Later, when Russia launched Sputnik and Americans felt a sense of damaged pride at being beaten into space, Langley again geared up to meet the needs of the space program.

The location of the Langley Research Center in Virginia is significant because government of the state of Virginia was resistant to integration. As a result, Langley was something of a social experiment in terms of integration since they employed black women and men in the field of science...