Abstract
Dr. Aura Wharton-Beck, Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, discusses her research about African American professional women ('Government Girls') working for the federal government during World War II. She became interested in this topic as a young girl when she found her mother's yearbook, Whirl-i-gig: A Pictorial Story of Midway Hall for Government Girls 1946 documenting her experience as a Government Girl.
This was the first time she had seen African American women in professional roles as statisticians, loan analysts, and financial computer analysts, opening her eyes to a greater number of opportunities and career options.
Her research included interviews with four Government Girls who were then in their 80's and 90's, outreach to local historical societies, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, The National Archives, Library of Congress, and The Minnesota Historical Society.