Page 6 The Skanner Seattle February 21, 2018
News
NASA Celebrates Legacy of First Black American Astronaut
USAF/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
NASA Celebrates Legacy of First Black American Astronaut on Anniversary of his Death
Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. was the first African American astronaut.
By Erick Johnson
Chicago Crusader/NNPA
Member
ifty years ago, a trag-
ic accident ended
the
groundbreak-
ing career of Major
Robert H. Lawrence, Jr.,
a Chicago native and stel-
lar Air Force pilot who
became America’s first
F
Black astronaut.
On December 8, 2017—
the 50th anniversary of
his death—NASA hon-
ored his often-ignored
legacy and contributions
to the agency.
Earlier this year, the
Chicago Crusader re-
ported about the lack of
visibility of NASA’s first
Black American astro-
naut and helped to raise
awareness about Law-
rence’s incredible jour-
ney.
In planning a story for
its annual Black History
Month edition, Chicago
Crusader staffers discov-
ered that little was being
done to honor Lawrence,
while NASA held memo-
rials to mark the 50th
anniversary of three,
White astronauts who
perished in a fire aboard
the Apollo 1 space mod-
ule, during a preflight
test.
The Crusader sto-
ry lauding Lawrence’s
achievements was pub-
lished in dozens of Black
newspapers after the
National
Newspapers
Publishers Association
(NNPA) carried it on its
newswire.
Born in 1935 to the late
Gwendolyn Duncan and
Robert H. Lawrence, Sr.,
the future Air Force pilot
was a man ahead of his
time. Long before mag-
net and STEM programs
were part of the high
school curriculum, Law-
rence excelled in math
and science.
At 16, he graduated
with honors from Engle-
wood High School and
went on to earn a bache-
lor’s degree in chemistry
from Bradley Universi-
ty. He married the late
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Barbara Cress from the
prominent Chicago Cress
family and entered the
Air Force at age 21 before
earning a doctorate in
physical chemistry from
Ohio State University,
becoming the first astro-
naut at NASA to earn a
doctorate degree.
As a United States Air
Force pilot, Lawrence
accumulated over 2,500
flight hours. In June 1967,
Lawrence
graduated
from the U.S. Air Force
Test Pilot School (Class
‘66B) at Edwards Air
Force Base, Calif. In that
same month, he was se-
lected by the USAF as
an astronaut for their
Manned Orbital Labo-
ratory (MOL) program,
thus
becoming
the
first Black astronaut.
Lawrence died while
training another pilot,
Maj. John Royer, to per-
form the “flare” maneu-
ver—an operation that
Lawrence had already
mastered— in the F-104
Starfighter.
According to NBC
News, “Lawrence’s mem-
ory languished in obscu-
rity” partly due to the
fact that, the Pentagon
only recognized some-
one as an “astronaut” if
they actually flew to an
altitude above 50 miles.
However, Rep. Bobby
Rush (D-Va.) mounted
a campaign that forced
NASA to put Lawrence’s
name on the Space Mir-
ror Memorial in 1997—
thirty years after Law-
rence’s death.
“On Dec. 8, 1997, on the
thirtieth anniversary of
his death, Lawrence had
his name unveiled on the
Florida memorial,” NBC
News reported.
The ceremony recog-
nizing Lawrence, earlier
this
month—although
spirited, at times—was a
somber one for the 300
guests that included dec-
orated NASA astronauts,
dignitaries,
relatives,
and friends, who had
flown and driven miles
across the country to
honor Lawrence at the
Kennedy Space Center in
Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Lawrence’s older sister,
Dr. Barbara Lawrence,
attended and spoke; an-
other prominent Chicago
resident who was pres-
ent was E. Dawn Griffin,
the oldest daughter of
Ernest Griffin, founder
of Griffin Funeral Home
in Bronzeville. The Grif-
fin Funeral Home, which
closed in 2012, handled
the funeral arrange-
ments for Lawrence.
Members from Law-
rence’s college fraterni-
ty, Omega Psi Phi, also
attended to honor one
of their own. On the
sprawling grounds of
the NASA facility, they
participated in a two-
and-a-half-hour ceremo-
ny that began at the Cen-
ter for Space Education
and culminated with an
emotional wreath-laying
ceremony at the base of
the national Space Mir-
ror Memorial, a massive
black granite structure
where Lawrence’s name
is among those of 20 as-
tronauts who either died
in flight or in training.
The ceremony brought
out some of NASA’s as-
tronauts and biggest of-
ficials. Charles Bolden,
America’s first Black
NASA chief administra-
tor, and Stephanie Wil-
son, the second Black
female astronaut, attend-
ed the service. Another
Black astronaut, Win-
ston Scott, played the
trumpet in a band that
performed various jazz
songs, including, “Fly Me
to the Moon.” Reported-
ly, jazz was one of Law-
rence’s favorite musical
genres.
Dr. Herman B. White
Jr., a physicist and lec-
turer at Bradley Univer-
sity in Peoria, Ill., Law-
rence’s alma mater, gave
a presentation where a
memorial
scholarship
and a conference room
bear Lawrence’s name.
Recently, Ohio State Uni-
versity in Columbus,
Ohio renamed a dormito-
ry in Lawrence’s honor.
Bolden, who piloted the
space shuttles Columbia
and Discovery, praised
Lawrence for his spirit.
“He took that first step,”
Bolden said. “If he had
lived, he would have
been flying on that space
shuttle also.”
Col. Robert Cabana,
who flew on four shuttle
missions, agreed.
“Major Robert H. Law-
rence truly was a hero,”
said Cabana. “He set the
stage for what was to
come.”
Dr. Barbara Lawrence
shared her experiences
with her brother as they
grew up on the South
Side of Chicago. She said,
when Robert was young,
he was a very disciplined
student and dedicated to
learning.
“I’m truly proud to
have been his sister,” she
shared. “He wasn’t inter-
ested in being the first
Black astronaut. He was
only interested in being
given the opportunity to
do what he wanted to do.
I’m sorry he wasn’t here
a little longer, but I think
his job was one that was
well done.”
The Chicago Crusader is
a member publication of
the National Newspaper
Publishers Association.