JonathanDunbar
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
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Group,
Before you read any further, you might want to save off this posting as it contains phrases and subject matter that I am 100% positive will garner complaints by foolish people who can achieve very little in life except complaining from the comfort and safety of their key-boards.
I use text that is germane to the time period of which I speak of and that the reader should be aware of the context that it is being used in.
Should the moderators here feel that the post should be stricken from the site, I have also posted this information at the 'other' rocket board and will be submitting it as an article to Sport Rocketry on the hopes that they publish it for mass consumption.
The posting was in part from another posting honoring the original Mercury 7. As many people don't know; surprisingly many within the model rocketry community, there were 13 women and one African American Astronaut who where also part of the early Mercury program.
I understand that for some of you, it will be impossible to believe such information or at the very least difficult to accept, but it is true and documented.
Here was my reply/response to the posting and I post here for informational purposes; perhaps the reader of this thread is a young person or parent who would like to educate their child and bolster confidence in that child, so that someday they may use their cell-phones from the Martian surface to call home and wish their parent a Happy Birthday or Mothers' Day:
My posting on the 'other' site:
Scott and group,
I know his name and it wasn't Sue. His actual name is, USAF Ret. Maj. Edward
Dwight. He now lives in Colorado and makes a very good living as a sculptor.
https://tinyurl.com/y3fvxlg <---- short biography
https://tinyurl.com/y6cygd6 <---- long biography
I had to respond to this posting as of all the posts I have read over the years on this
board, this thread is very dear to me for several reasons. As a result, I finally feel
motivated to post on this board. I think I will also copy this over to the TRF board as
someone might find the information of interest!?
First off, the nascent American Manned Space program is a slice of African American
history that few either want to learn about or are never told about. Let me qualify
the previous statement.
Maj. Dwight shows African Americans what hard work and dedication can do for one's
future. As a result, it runs counter to the current concept that whites will alway
hold you back, and therefore the role of victim is the only 'pure' role to exist in; e.g.
public housing, crime, homicides, rap music, et al.. Why better yourself because the
white man will always be there to place a boot on your neck; my dear mother told me
the very exact same thing when as a child when I made the mistake of telling her I
wanted to become an astronaut.
The current American president is about, 'CHANGE', and reflects the lower strata of
society triumphing over the historically dominant power of America, i.e. 'The Man',
i.e. Whites – people of European descent.
Much of what Maj. Dwight did is swept under the rug by NASA as it is VERY
embarrassing to NASA and to our nation as a whole. We had segregation in schools,
hospitals, cemeteries, and space flight was no different.
What is of interest and not so commonly known, is that Maj. Dwight used the same
testing and training facilities that the original Mercury 7 Astronauts used.
Difference was, the Mercury 7 used the facilities ~6am to 6pm. Maj. Dwight
used the facilities from 6pm - 6am. It was made very clear that Maj. Dwight could be
trained as an Astronaut, but he couldn't be seen by the Press or in the presence of
other Astronauts; Separate but Equal... even in Space Flight!
Kennedy was a major proponent of a ‘Negro Astronaut’, as he correctly felt that
Negroes pay taxes and should also be represented in the new space technologies.
People such as von Braun were vehemently opposed to Maj. Dwight and to the 13
"Astronetts" (The original 13 women Astronaut trainees that were one plane ride
to Florida and into the public spot-light, when von Braun and others nixed their
training and acceptance into the astronaut corps - I will post links about them at the
end of this article). Once Kennedy was assassinated, Maj. Dwight was dropped
from the Astronaut training corps. This was in part due to Maj. Dwight talking to
the press too much and that Maj. Dwight was also active in civil rights;
can't have Astronauts with opinions... same way in which G. Harry Stine (founder of
Model Rocketry) lost one of his jobs because he had an opinion concerning American
missile strength.
So publicly, there were 7 main-stream, good looking, male, white astronauts that
symbolized America's reach for the stars. But behind there scenes there were 13
women and one negro/colored that didn't quite fit the bill of what America needed
to see piloting some of it’s most technologically advanced craft.
So while I also celebrate, "Lift-off and the clock has started", "God Speed John
Glenn", I also understand that there was a hidden side to America's space program
that gets swept under the rug when ever possible.
The take home messages: there were 7 official American astronauts, then there were
a total of 14 unofficial Mercury Astronauts who most don't even know about.
Further reading about America’s 13 Mercury women astronauts who didn’t make it to
space even though they showed through testing that they were better able to handle
the stresses and multi-tasking requirements than the male astronauts:
https://tinyurl.com/y6zrx6t <-- Very good book, I HIGHLY recommend it!
https://tinyurl.com/y27zmlg <-- Jerrie Cobb, first woman to pass
Astronaut training, but couldn’t pass the ‘glass ceiling'
About the author of this posting:
I just want to make it clear, that I am NOT a bleeding heart liberal. I am not for
slavery reparations, nor do I support affirmative action. I am black, and a
Constitutional Conservative, not a Republican. I hold degrees in Physics,
Astronomy, and Chemistry. I compete in the National Association of Rocketry and
hold numerous awards, records and achievements within.
I state this because I want the reader to understand the impetus for my writing this
article and why people like Maj. Dwight should be honored and revered for the
foundation they suffered through and laid down so that a person like myself could
pick up the baton in our ‘run for the stars’.
Retired Major Dwight is why I am successful as he paved the road so that my travels would be smoother.
Thank you Edward Dwight, and I hope to visit him on my trip to NARAM-52 later this year.
I do authorize the republication and distribution of this article for non-profit uses.
Jonathan Dunbar
NAR 34583
Before you read any further, you might want to save off this posting as it contains phrases and subject matter that I am 100% positive will garner complaints by foolish people who can achieve very little in life except complaining from the comfort and safety of their key-boards.
I use text that is germane to the time period of which I speak of and that the reader should be aware of the context that it is being used in.
Should the moderators here feel that the post should be stricken from the site, I have also posted this information at the 'other' rocket board and will be submitting it as an article to Sport Rocketry on the hopes that they publish it for mass consumption.
The posting was in part from another posting honoring the original Mercury 7. As many people don't know; surprisingly many within the model rocketry community, there were 13 women and one African American Astronaut who where also part of the early Mercury program.
I understand that for some of you, it will be impossible to believe such information or at the very least difficult to accept, but it is true and documented.
Here was my reply/response to the posting and I post here for informational purposes; perhaps the reader of this thread is a young person or parent who would like to educate their child and bolster confidence in that child, so that someday they may use their cell-phones from the Martian surface to call home and wish their parent a Happy Birthday or Mothers' Day:
My posting on the 'other' site:
Scott and group,
I know his name and it wasn't Sue. His actual name is, USAF Ret. Maj. Edward
Dwight. He now lives in Colorado and makes a very good living as a sculptor.
https://tinyurl.com/y3fvxlg <---- short biography
https://tinyurl.com/y6cygd6 <---- long biography
I had to respond to this posting as of all the posts I have read over the years on this
board, this thread is very dear to me for several reasons. As a result, I finally feel
motivated to post on this board. I think I will also copy this over to the TRF board as
someone might find the information of interest!?
First off, the nascent American Manned Space program is a slice of African American
history that few either want to learn about or are never told about. Let me qualify
the previous statement.
Maj. Dwight shows African Americans what hard work and dedication can do for one's
future. As a result, it runs counter to the current concept that whites will alway
hold you back, and therefore the role of victim is the only 'pure' role to exist in; e.g.
public housing, crime, homicides, rap music, et al.. Why better yourself because the
white man will always be there to place a boot on your neck; my dear mother told me
the very exact same thing when as a child when I made the mistake of telling her I
wanted to become an astronaut.
The current American president is about, 'CHANGE', and reflects the lower strata of
society triumphing over the historically dominant power of America, i.e. 'The Man',
i.e. Whites – people of European descent.
Much of what Maj. Dwight did is swept under the rug by NASA as it is VERY
embarrassing to NASA and to our nation as a whole. We had segregation in schools,
hospitals, cemeteries, and space flight was no different.
What is of interest and not so commonly known, is that Maj. Dwight used the same
testing and training facilities that the original Mercury 7 Astronauts used.
Difference was, the Mercury 7 used the facilities ~6am to 6pm. Maj. Dwight
used the facilities from 6pm - 6am. It was made very clear that Maj. Dwight could be
trained as an Astronaut, but he couldn't be seen by the Press or in the presence of
other Astronauts; Separate but Equal... even in Space Flight!
Kennedy was a major proponent of a ‘Negro Astronaut’, as he correctly felt that
Negroes pay taxes and should also be represented in the new space technologies.
People such as von Braun were vehemently opposed to Maj. Dwight and to the 13
"Astronetts" (The original 13 women Astronaut trainees that were one plane ride
to Florida and into the public spot-light, when von Braun and others nixed their
training and acceptance into the astronaut corps - I will post links about them at the
end of this article). Once Kennedy was assassinated, Maj. Dwight was dropped
from the Astronaut training corps. This was in part due to Maj. Dwight talking to
the press too much and that Maj. Dwight was also active in civil rights;
can't have Astronauts with opinions... same way in which G. Harry Stine (founder of
Model Rocketry) lost one of his jobs because he had an opinion concerning American
missile strength.
So publicly, there were 7 main-stream, good looking, male, white astronauts that
symbolized America's reach for the stars. But behind there scenes there were 13
women and one negro/colored that didn't quite fit the bill of what America needed
to see piloting some of it’s most technologically advanced craft.
So while I also celebrate, "Lift-off and the clock has started", "God Speed John
Glenn", I also understand that there was a hidden side to America's space program
that gets swept under the rug when ever possible.
The take home messages: there were 7 official American astronauts, then there were
a total of 14 unofficial Mercury Astronauts who most don't even know about.
Further reading about America’s 13 Mercury women astronauts who didn’t make it to
space even though they showed through testing that they were better able to handle
the stresses and multi-tasking requirements than the male astronauts:
https://tinyurl.com/y6zrx6t <-- Very good book, I HIGHLY recommend it!
https://tinyurl.com/y27zmlg <-- Jerrie Cobb, first woman to pass
Astronaut training, but couldn’t pass the ‘glass ceiling'
About the author of this posting:
I just want to make it clear, that I am NOT a bleeding heart liberal. I am not for
slavery reparations, nor do I support affirmative action. I am black, and a
Constitutional Conservative, not a Republican. I hold degrees in Physics,
Astronomy, and Chemistry. I compete in the National Association of Rocketry and
hold numerous awards, records and achievements within.
I state this because I want the reader to understand the impetus for my writing this
article and why people like Maj. Dwight should be honored and revered for the
foundation they suffered through and laid down so that a person like myself could
pick up the baton in our ‘run for the stars’.
Retired Major Dwight is why I am successful as he paved the road so that my travels would be smoother.
Thank you Edward Dwight, and I hope to visit him on my trip to NARAM-52 later this year.
I do authorize the republication and distribution of this article for non-profit uses.
Jonathan Dunbar
NAR 34583
