“You’re female, you’re black and you’re going to have a segregated school education—so you’re going to have three strikes against you,” Montague recalled her mother saying in a 2012 interview with Rhonda Owen of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “But you can do anything you want to do and be anything you want to be.”
All along, her plan was to rise in the ranks. She studied computer programming at night, and was eventually promoted to a digital computer systems operator and a computer systems analyst. After one year, she asked her boss for another promotion. He told her that if she wanted the job, she would have to work nights—a problem for Montague because the buses did not run late and she did not know how to drive. Determined to push forward, she bought herself a 1949 Pontiac and taught herself to drive—slowly. If she left her house at 10 p.m., she would make it into the office by midnight.
Montague was promoted, but her struggles did not end there. She told Good Morning America that she was surrounded by male staff who thought she was “the help.”
In around 1970, Montague’s supervisor gave her six months to create the first successful computer program for ship design, failing to disclose that their department had been trying unsuccessfully to accomplish the task for years.
“I hate to say this, but he was a racist,” Montague said. “So he decided ... to get rid of me.”
When Montague’s supervisor saw how committed she was to meeting his deadline, he supplied her with a full night staff. Word of the program they created reached then-President Richard Nixon, who asked to see plans for a computer-designed warship, quickly. This prompting from the president led to Montague and her team creating the first computer-designed Naval ship plans in under 19 hours.
In honor of her work, Montague was granted the Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1972. Her program became central to the design of warships and submarines, and she worked for the Navy for 33 years. When she retired in 1990, Montague was given a flag that flew over Washington, D.C., along with a certificate saying that it had been raised in her honor.
“Can you imagine that from a grateful nation?” Montague asked during her Good Morning America interview. Then, as if still in disbelief about how far she had come, she exclaimed, “A little girl from Little Rock!”
Source of most quotes is Smithsonian Magazine article about Montague upon her death at 83 in 2018.
...a woman who is new to me, thanks for the introduction.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome.
DeleteWow! What a story.
ReplyDeleteA very talented smart woman!
DeleteBarbara, You keep sending out the 'lessons' and I keep learning new things! Didn't know about Julia Morgan, Rhianna Giddens or Raye Montague. Both Julia and Raye are great examples of perserverance...no matter what the odds of success were! That MacArthur award that Rhianna Giddens earned is no small feat either! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDeleteYep, we keep on learning and I'm glad to share that with you.
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