Two New Orleans students solved the Pythagorean Theorem, and their achievement even caught the eye of a legendary NBA player.
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Charles Barkley keeps $1M promise after 2 New Orleans students solve Pythagorean Theorem
St. Mary’s Academy seniors Ne’Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson are seen at the school in New Orleans on Friday, March 24, 2023. (Photo by Brett Duke,
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
Roughly four months after NBA legend Charles Barkley promised $1 million to St. Mary's Academy in New Orleans East, the private school where two students cracked a centuries-old mathematical equation has received its first $100,000 from Barkley.
The school will continue to receive the donation in installments over the next decade, school officials said in a press release Wednesday.
Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson, who have since graduated from St. Mary's Academy, were
featured on CBS 60 Minutes in May after solving the Pythagorean Theorem — an equation that had stumped mathematicians for roughly 2,000 years. The segment inspired Barkley to donate to the school.
A representative from the Charles Barkley Foundation said that the former professional basketball player is "focused on transforming future generations" through educational opportunities.
"[Barkley] has a love and passion for what the academy stands for and how it is shaping the lives and futures of young girls in New Orleans," the representative said.
Pamela Rogers, president of St. Mary's Academy, said in the press release that the staff are "forever grateful" for the 10-year gift and Barkley's support of their students.
"This transformative gift will assist students as they excel and achieve whatever dream they create within the walls of St. Mary’s Academy,” Rogers said.
The donation will be used to enhance St. Mary Academy's educational experience and provide students with opportunities to grow within and outside of the classroom, according to the press release.
Solving Pythagorean Theorem
During their senior year, Johnson and Jackson spent last winter break focused on a bonus question for a math contest in their class.
The bonus question was far more difficult than what students typically see written on tests or across a classroom whiteboard. In fact, it was deemed impossible to answer, until Johnson and Jackson proved that wasn't the case.
The pair obsessively worked for months to solve the theorem. They even spent Mardi Gras break meeting on Zoom, rather than on the chaotic, float-ridden streets of New Orleans.
“For two months we worked together nonstop — during school, after school, at home, at lunch,” Johnson told The Times-Picayune last year.
With the use of trigonometry, Johnson and Jackson eventually solved the Pythagorean Theorem — a Greek principle surrounding the relations between three sides of a right triangle. The mathematical puzzle has been proven in many ways over thousands of years, but never with trigonometry.
Despite their achievement, when CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker asked Johnson and Jackson if they were math geniuses during
the segment, both shook their heads.
"Not at all," Jackson said.
From CBS press release.
Whitaker said in the press release that he was not only impressed by the two students, but St. Mary Academy's long history of teaching students who go on to be successful adults. While recounting his interview with Johnson and Jackson, Whitaker described the women in three words: "brilliant, yet humble."
Neither plan to pursue a career in math, they told Whitaker in May. Johnson is studying environmental engineering at Louisiana State University, and Jackson is attending Xavier University in New Orleans, after earning a full-ride scholarship for pharmacy school.
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