At 90 years old, Ed Dwight completed a journey denied to him 63 years ago when he was selected by President Kennedy to be the first African American astronaut but faced racism and pressure to quit the NASA space program. He traveled to space as a passenger on Jeff Bezos' "Blue Origin" mission on May 19, 2024.
Ed Dwight was the first Black man selected for an American astronaut-training program in 1962. He left the astronaut program in 1966 and pursued sculpting, but his achievements and impact were recognized by former NASA administrator Charles Bolden Jr. and other Black astronauts.
1 View gallery
Ed Dwight celebrating as he exits the Mission NS-25 crew capsule, upon landing near the Blue Origin base near Van Horn, Texas, on May 19, 2024
(Photo: HANDOUT / BLUE ORIGIN / AFP)
Dwight became an accomplished sculptor, creating thousands of works honoring African American figures, and Blue Origin's space tourism reignited his desire to go to space, which was financially supported by Space for Humanity.
A sculpture honoring the abolitionist Harriet Tubman, created by Ed Dwight, was unveiled yesterday at Beaufort's Tabernacle Baptist Church, which raised nearly $1 million over eight years to complete the monument.
Dwight called the experience of going to space life-changing and believes everyone should do it.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: BBC, Washington Post, Post and Courier, Amsterdam News, and Gulf Today.