Ed Dwight, Jr. – Test Pilot, Aerospace Engineer and America's First Black Astronaut Candidate
Chosen in 1962 by President Kennedy as America's first black astronaut candidate; due to racism in the astronaut program, he resigned; now is a world-class sculptor, specializing in sculptures depicting aspects of Black History
Ed Dwight, Jr. was a 28-year-old Air Force captain at Travis Air Force Base in California when he got a letter from President Kennedy in 1961 urging him to apply to test-pilot school as a prelude to becoming America's first black astronaut. The son of a Negro League baseball…
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