Ed Dwight

Equality in space? It faced some hurdles

One day in 1961, Ed Dwight’s high-flying life took an abrupt turn.
“I had a very successful military career … flying five different airplanes, which is a pilot’s dream,” he recalled.
Then he got word that he should prepare to become the first Black astronaut. He didn’t particularly want it, but his mother did; so did John Kennedy.
Dwiight’s story is at the core of “The Space Race” (shown here with Victor Glover, Dwight and Leland Melvin), an intriguing documentary about Blacks and NASA. It reaches Hulu and Disney+ on Tuesday (Feb. 13), after debuting at 9 p.m. Monday on the National Geographic Channel. Read more…