In history. So, theyre going into archives, into museums, into libraries and theyre sifting through primary sources, secondary sources. And then theyre thinking critically about that and why their topic was important in history as related to an annual theme. This year the theme is triumph and tragedy in history. And then they present their findings in different formats. Of course, one of the categories you see right behind me, and thats the exhibit category. And then theres also a paper category and dramatic performance, documentary, or website. So, history day gives kids an opportunity to be creative in the way in which they present their information. So, for performance category, first they have to do their research. Good, Solid Research into primary and secondary sources. Going into the museums. Lets say its a civil rights topic and theyre going to find someone to do an interview with. Basically the research that historical quality, the information and the evidence. Thats everyone has to do that. And then they have to thinks about that information in relationship to the theme. Triumph and tragedy in history. And determine why that topic is important, significant in history. What kind of change did it cause . Why should we care about this . And then finally they present their information so they can choose any category and the students who choose performance i think really have to want to be up in front of a lot of people. But its ten minutes. And ten minutes is a long time doesnt sound like it but when youre standing up in front of judges, ten minutes is a long time. On the other hand, its a short amount of time youve done massive amounts of research and you just want to tell everybody every single thing you know, and usually thats what they want to do. But they cant. And the reason we have the time limit or in the exhibits is a word limit, is to help students be concise. To learn what information should be presented and what can they leave out . Still tell the story and still provide the evidence and the analysis. Katherine johnson, a quiet triumph in a mans world. Grew up aspiring to be a mathematician. Her father was a laborer and her mother stayed at home with the children. My father was the smartest man i knew. Educated only through the sixth grade. He could do numbers faster than you can bat your eye. I had a very interesting childhood but, oh, my, education was the primary focus in my family. Katherine entered high school when she was 10. She went to allblack West VirginiaState College at age 15 where she met professor w. W. Clater. He was my mentor and push med to pursue a career in research mathematics. He made me take all the courses in the catalog. Sometimes i was the only one in the course. Katherine graduated with highest honors in 1987 and took a job teaching at a predominantly black school in West Virginia. Soon after she left to enroll in a graduate math program. These were the years katherine realized not only was her race a barrier but also her gender. The nation was polarized by world war ii. It create an opportunity for women to step into the workforce and prove they can do the same work as men and just as as well, if not better. But the tragic jim crow laws brought tension in the workplace and school systems. However, political waves soon began to shift in favor of africanamericans. President franklin d. Roosevelt gave blacks hope in his famous 1941 for freedom speech he promised that men of every creed and every race, wherever they lived in the world are entitled to freedom. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Those who struggled to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity. He pledged to help overcome dictators in countries that deny other people their freedom. For years he promised an end to discrimination and yet action was slow to follow. In 1952 a newspaper ad caught the attention of my sister, whom my husband and i were living with. The ad was, reduce your household duties, women who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and do jobs for men. She called langley laboratory. Years earlier an ad like this would have been unthinkable by most employers who never would have considered a woman for job that had always been performed by men. How tragic it was that highly intelligent and qualified women did not have the opportunity to share their gifts and tat ents with the world. Having seen the paper, katherine and her husband moved the family to hampton, virginia, in 1953 to pursue the opportunity to work at langley. Katherine had to wait a year before she was hired as a human computer. Computers were women who solved difficult ee equations auto used slide rulers. Nasa began having men women work for them, white and black. However, there was still segregation. There was a small room that was expected to fit 20 black workers or more. Can you imagine working long hours every day . While the whites enjoyed modern technology and spacious rooms while sipping their cup of coffee. No matter how hard we worked, we were only paid 16,000 a year while the men took home 26,000. Thats a 10,000 difference. After a few weeks working there, my supervisor sign and i never looked back. We had these big data sheets and it was fascinating. Soon it was obvious that she was different from the other scientists. They said women dont usually come to these things. It was shocking hearing them say that to me. She fought back telling them i need to be at the briefing. And yet still i was denied. I asked once more that women could not go into the briefings. Katherine used logic and intellect. After a few months her boss gave in and allowed her spew an allmale, allwhite briefing room. To create a more Inclusive Work environment. Katherine was the first woman in her branch to sign her name on a research report. However, the fact it was so hard for her to get equal treatment if she hadnt been so determined her talent never would have been acknowledged. In 1957 russia launched the first satellite in space. She said the russians had a vehicle riding around looking down at you so nasa sent someone to look down, too. Three years later the soviet union sent the first human in space. In his speech, john f. Kennedy said, i believe this nation should commit itself to the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth. Wanting to have part in exploring the space frontier and afraid of the soviet unions new military advantage, nasa began to work on reaching that goal. My team and i performed the trajectory analysis forr ara al shepherd. John glenn orbited earth. Nasa had acquired their first ibm computer which is programmed to calculate the trajectory but the manufactured computers were known to make mistakes. Now that machines did most of the commutation for nasa, Human Computers were not needed as much but the astronauts were hesitant of putting their lives in the hands of electronic machines. A day before john glenn flew, he refused to get into the spacecraft unless Katherine Johnson personally double checked the numbers. He said, get the girl to check the numbers. If she says theyre good, im ready to go. It took me a day and a half to verify what the computers had given him. I worked through every minute of calculations. So when i delivered the data sheets to the project mercury engineers, i had no doubt they were correct. If i was so happy for the success of the orbital mission. I may not have been recognized at the time but im so proud of me and my teams work. John glenns life will long be remembered for his time in space, his courage. Katherine was promoted to work on the Apollo Missions. The most important Apollo Mission that katherine worked on was apollo 13, three days after apollo 13 launched, claiming to land on the moon an air tank exploded, putting the three astronauts on board in mortal peril. I needed to redo the calculations. The astronauts would have to fly around the far side of the moon and the moons gravity would sling shot apollo 13 back to earth. However, the astronauts would have to use the limited amount of fuel at certain intervals at specific times. My calculations brought the men home safely. Katherines success didnt end there. In 2015 katherine was awarded a president ial medal of freedom from president barack obama. This award was a representation of how mrs. Johnsons astute mathematical skills and persistence to acquire equal treatment in the workplaces laid the groundwork for future women scientists and mathematicians. Nasa would never have enabled a talent if she hadnt been so determined. Due to the unfair treatment, america may never have had such triumph, which would have been a very tragic loss for the scientific community. As eloquently stated by mrs. Johnson we will always have s. T. E. M. With us. Some things will drop out of the public eye, i will go away but he we will always have science, technology, engineering and well always have mathematics. Here i stand, sofia, a mexican christian. Here i stan. A true reflection of Katherine Johnsons vision for kids to Learn Together and have their dream. We stand together united in friendship and caring on for equality. We stand together in aspiring. Scientists. Actress. Doctor. Engineer. Its endless because of women who would not let anyone tell them to stay in the kitchen. Pioneers like. Katherine johnson. [ applause ] this National History day performance of Katherine Johnson, a quiet triumph in a white mans world won second place over 500,000 students competed at the local level, just 3,000 students advanced to the National Contest at the university of maryland. You can learn more about National History day at nhd. Org. Hi, everyone, my name is adam cook and a the 2018 cspan student cam winner. Im here to enkoushcourage you wrap up this competition as the deadline gets pretty close. Dont worry. You still have time. This is about the time i started filming my documentary the first year i entered it. Im in the d. C. Offices right now and im just going to tell you that cspan student cam was an Incredible Opportunity for me to express my thoughts and my views about the Political Climate in the current day as well as connect with state and local leaders in political office. Im extremely excited you all are interested in this and pursuing this because its a once in a lifetime opportunity. Im so excited you all are taking it. Theres still time for you to enter the cspan student cam video competition. You have until january 20th to create a five to sixminute documentary that explores an issue you want the president ial candidates to address during campaign 2020. Were giving away a total of 100,000 in cash prizes with a grand prize of 5,000. For more information, go to our website, studentcam. Org. Every weekend American History tv brings you 48 hours of unique programming exploring our nations past. To view our schedule and archive of all our perhaps, visit cspan. Org history. Up next on American History tv, Vice President mike pence delivers remarks at the unveiling ceremony for Neil Armstrongs apollo 11 space suit at the Smithsonians National air and space museum in washington, d. C. The space suit went on display for the first time in 13 years to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the apollo 11 mission to the moon. [ applause ] good morning. Thank you for joining us as we kick off a week of amazing celebrations of humanitys highest achievement, thepo