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Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly

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to be the war to truly end all wars.<br />

After the deluge, the uncertainty settled<br />

in. Three weeks after V-J Day, the<br />

Norfolk Journal and Guide reported<br />

layoffs of 1,500 Newport News shipyard<br />

workers and a “decrease for women<br />

workers, both white and colored.” “It<br />

seems impossible to escape the<br />

conclusion that employment in the<br />

shipyards and governmental<br />

establishments in the Hampton Roads<br />

area will be drastically curtailed,”<br />

commented the Washington Post.<br />

Returning servicemen were expected to<br />

have first claim on what jobs remained in<br />

the peacetime economy. Just as “victory”<br />

had been the watchword for the past four<br />

years, now “reconversion” came to the<br />

fore, with the United States trying to<br />

adjust its psyche and its economy to the

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