In 2007, my father, Mr. Pearl Rush, passed away from a long illness. Shortly thereafter, I began a family research project, in part, because his death was a grim reminder of my own mortality. I began by looking into my mother’s Walden side, learning all that I could. Though I was not consciously thinking of it this way, I have had a number of people tell me that my research is the manner that I chose to grieve. I cannot argue with that. My research also introduced me to some relatives I had not previously known.
Somewhere in my research, I was introduced to a cousin named Ms. Vera Silver from Newport News, Virginia. Vera is very in-tune with seeking family information, and took a keen interest in everything that I was collecting. Vera also likes to read, so that was a natural connection for us as well. My great, great, great grandmother, Mrs. Julia Walden, had 12 children and at one time, settled in Robbins, NC after slavery. I am a descendant of Julia’s fourth child, Anderson, and Vera is a descendant of Julia’s 11th child, Margaret. Vera and I have talked about 4 or 5 times each year since we first met in 2008.
It had been six weeks since I had last talked to Vera, when she called in early February. She began the conversation by asking if I had seen any good movies lately. I then went into a tidal wave, overflowing, praiseworthy description of “Hidden Figures,” gushing about how good the movie was and what it stood for. I told her that my favorite scene had been of the actress Taraji Henson standing at the chalkboard in front of the colloquy made up of all-White men. Taraji was completing the math problem that would indicate where the space ship would return to planet Earth after its flight. Every human being in that room understood that the most brilliant person was the woman at the board. I had loved that scene. Vera listened patiently, waiting to speak.
When I had finished, Vera went into this History lesson of her time growing up in Virginia, of going to school with “The Goble girls,” and what it was like being in the orchestra with them. “The Goble girls” happen to be the children of Mrs. Katherine Goble Johnson, the main character in “Hidden Figures.” She went on to tell me little things of that segregated era, with little tidbits about all of the women who starred in the movie thrown in, concluding with family connections for them and their children.
The most fascinating thing about Vera’s summary was that I had attended a presentation in Greensboro, NC by Ms. Kathleen Moore, the daughter of Ms. Kathleen Goble Johnson, the night before our conversation. The event was so well-attended that I had to watch it on TV in the church’s overflow room. The presentation had been extraordinary in providing background details to the movie and giving a sincere sense of the humility and class of all of the women featured in the production.
Prior to me telling Vera that I had seen and heard Mrs. Goble Johnson’s daughter the night before, Vera named all of the Goble girls, and everything that Vera said lined up with everything that I heard during the presentation. Vera had even named all of the girls and Ms. Katherine Goble Moore, the woman who did the presentation.
I told Vera that she had a book of her own to write, that connects her, in her own small way, to the larger “Hidden Figures” story. Vera also mentioned both knowing, and talking on the phone recently, with the mother of Mrs. Margot Lee Shetterly, the woman who wrote the book “Hidden Figures.” I was blown away by God supplying me with the gift of a cousin’s familiarity with, and conversation about, so much of the background information and people in “Hidden Figures.” Vera was glad to hear that I had both seen the movie and had been to the event the night before. Vera said she will tell Ms. Kathleen Moore, the next time she talks to her on the phone, that I was impressed with her presentation, mainly because I told Vera that I thought that the presentation was almost as good as the movie. I hung up the phone and just sat there in awe at God’s power and presence. We live in such a small World. I had to pinch myself that I had just finished talking to a relative who grew up amongst the genius women displayed in “Hidden Figures.” It was confirmation that genius is never far away. Wow!! It was such an awesome experience!
