Mary and her son, Levi, Jr., work on his entry in the 1960 Newport News soap box derby, to be held in early July. As an engineer, Mary knows more than most fathers about how to improve a soap box racer’s performance. Boys from Black families do not usually know about the derby, much less enter it. For Mary, the contest is a chance for Levi to compete with white boys on equal terms—fair and square, win or lose. Girls are not allowed to enter, but Mary wants better opportunities for them, too. She and a female white colleague give a talk to Black junior high girls about engineering as a career for women. As a Girl Scout troop leader, Mary lobbies for a single, integrated council for the area.

The day of the big race arrives. Levi wins, saving his best time for the final, deciding heat. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he answers, “I want to be an engineer like my mother.”