Uncover the little-known stories of the first Black pilots, engineers and scientists seeking to break the bonds of socia | dG1fMlotaURCcmo1Z0k
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00:00 Growing up, I loved the space program.
00:04 But nobody doing that stuff looked like me.
00:11 Very few people today even have a clue about black people's contribution to human space flight.
00:18 I was the only black aerospace engineer.
00:21 The only black NASA in the history of the world.
00:23 The only black offshore space flight.
00:24 The only black astronaut.
00:25 Because they weren't written in history books.
00:27 In the early days of the civil rights movement, NASA wanted to show that they were engaged in equality for all.
00:39 I was told by friends and enemies alike, "You're 20 years too soon, buddy."
00:44 If you qualify and would like to be an astronaut, now is the time.
00:48 This is your NASA.
00:50 I don't think America or anybody knew I was a body, in a way.
00:55 It was imaginary. It was a lie.
00:57 Around the same time, there was a Cuban who was the first person of color to fly.
01:02 The Soviets made that history.
01:04 Not the United States.
01:07 To see a black man in space,
01:10 it would have changed things.
01:22 The three of us all recognized that one of us would be the first black astronaut.
01:26 I would have made it to the moon.
01:29 But they were not going to let that happen.
01:32 Representation becomes critically important.
01:36 They help us keep moving down that path.
01:38 Back in the day, they were saying that blacks are too ignorant to be flying in space.
01:44 I'm smitten that you're up there doing all these wonderful things.
01:47 Black history is American history.
01:50 We forget it at our peril.
01:55 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
02:00 you
02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]