Counting down to liftoff. Dangerous trips to the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. Gravitational forces powerful enough to pull blood from the eyes. The sound of immense power unleashed in barely controlled fury. Thundering toward the sun. Zero gravity.
Born in 1933 in Kansas City, Kan., Edward Joseph Dwight was an altar boy who visited the local airport every day, where he studied and drew the airplanes. He loved art, but his dream was to fly. “This was a white man’s world,” he said of his early passion. “I never thought for a minute that I would really fly an airplane. This was crazy.”
But a front-page story in his local newspaper fueled Dwight’s ambitions: The plane of an African-American pilot from his hometown had been shot down in Korea. “He was standing on a wing of a jet . . . and I was like, Oh my God, they’re letting Black folks fly jets,” he said during an interview.
Dwight enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1953, where he rose through the ranks: from cadet to second and then first lieutenant, and later, to captain. While training to become a test pilot, he attended night classes at Arizona State University, graduating in 1957.
On Nov. 4, 1961, Dwight received a signed letter from President Kennedy’s office that read: “I’m inviting you to become America’s first Negro astronaut . . . this is very exciting because if this project succeeds, you will probably end up being the greatest Negro that ever lived.”
The news brought immediate attention from local and international media: Dwight had become the first African American astronaut trainee.
A New York Times headline read: “Negro Astronaut Aiming for Moon.” The Indianapolis Recorder reported: “Kansas Native in Line as First Sepia Astronaut.” The United States Information Agency sent photos of Dwight to newspapers worldwide. “I was sending out 5,000 press photographs a month, and I made 176 speeches the first year,” Dwight told Ebony magazine in 1984.
The civil rights movement and the space race seemed to have embraced. But after Pres. Kennedy’s assassination, NASA did not select Dwight. He later shared that the racial politics and a lack of career opportunities encouraged him to resign from the Air Force in 1966, never having gone into space.
He then worked a few jobs and eventually moved to Denver, Colo., where he would resume one of his childhood passions: art.
Dwight studied at the University of Denver, earning his MFA in 1977. During that time, he gained a reputation as a sculptor.
Now 85, Dwight’s private Denver studio, Ed Dwight Studios, is one of the largest privately owned production and marketing facilities in the western United States.
His commissions include: Underground Railroad Memorial, Patterson, N.J.; Denmark Vesey, Charleston, S.C.; Medgar Evers Memorial, Alcorn, Miss.; Martin Luther Jr. & Coretta Scott King Memorial, Allentown, Pa.; and Tulsa Race Riot Memorial, Tulsa, Okla.
Tamara Shiloh
Tamara Shiloh has published the first two books in her historical fiction chapter book series,
Just Imagine…What If There Were No Black People in the World is about African American inventors, scientists and other notable Black people in history. The two books are
Jaxon’s Magical Adventure with Black Inventors and Scientists and
Jaxon and Kevin’s Black History Trip Downtown. Tamara Shiloh has also written a book a picture book for Scholastic,
Cameron Teaches Black History, that will be available in June, 2022.
Tamara Shiloh’s other writing experiences include: writing the Black History column for the Post Newspaper in the Bay area, Creator and Instruction of the black History Class for Educators a professional development class for teachers and her non-profit offers a free Black History literacy/STEM/Podcast class for kids 3d – 8th grade which also includes the Let’s Go Learn Reading and Essence and tutorial program. She is also the owner of the Multicultural Bookstore and Gifts, in Richmond, California,
Previously in her early life she was the /Editor-in-Chief of
Desert Diamonds Magazine, highlighting the accomplishments of minority women in Nevada; assisting with the creation, design and writing of a Los Angeles-based, herbal magazine entitled
Herbal Essence; editorial contribution to
Homes of Color; Editor-in-Chief of
Black Insight Magazine, the first digital, interactive magazine for African Americans; profile creations for sports figures on the now defunct PublicFigure.com; newsletters for various businesses and organizations; and her own Las Vegas community newsletter,
Tween Time News, a monthly publication highlighting music entertainment in the various venues of Las Vegas.
She is a member of:
- Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
- Richmond Chamber of Commerce
- Point Richmond Business Association
- National Association of Professional Women (NAPW)
- Independent Book Publishers Association (IPBA)
- California Writers Club-Berkeley & Marin
- Richmond CA Kiwanis
- Richmond CA Rotary
- Bay Area Girls Club
Tamara Shiloh, a native of Northern California, has two adult children, one grandson and four great-grand sons. She resides in Point Richmond, CA with her husband, Ernest.
www.multiculturalbookstore.com
