When Johnson was asked to recall something from her childhood, she said “I counted everything. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed … anything that could be counted, I did."

Johnson was featured in a book about the rough life of her and her two other black colleagues.

This book was made into a movie called "Hidden Figures"

 Janelle Monae, the woman who played Mary Jackson in "Hidden Figures", said, "I cried because I had never heard of Katherine Johnson or Dorothy Vaughan or Mary Jackson. But I know these women and their struggles. I am Mary. I am so honored to play her. This film is so important because it shows black people and black women in a different light."