I Was Poised to be the First Black Astronaut. I Never Made it to Space. | 'Almost Famous' by Op-Docs

This is the story of Ed Dwight Jr., who was invited by his country to train to be the first African-American astronaut. Back in 1963, it was hot news. But the United States never sent Dwight to space. For decades, he has maintained that he was discriminated against during his time at the Aerospace Research Pilot School, a prerequisite to NASA run by the legendary pilot Chuck Yeager.

Dwight is now a prolific artist, building memorials and creating public art honoring African-American history. His footprints cannot be found on the moon. But his fingerprints can be found on sculptures across the country.

“Almost Famous” is a special Op-Docs series of short films directed by Ben Proudfoot featuring people who nearly made history — only to fall short. These are tales of overcoming disappointment at its most epic, from an astronaut who never flew to a superstar who never was.

Credits
Director: Ben Proudfoot
Featuring: Edward Dwight Jr.
Producers: Gabriel Berk Godoi, Abby Lynn Kang Davis
Co-Producer: Jeremy Lambert
Cinematography: Brandon Somerhalder
Editor: Nick Garnham Wright
Composer: Nicholas Jacobson-Larson
Assistant Editor: Lisset Mendoza
First Assistant Cameras: Jana McLain, Joey Schusler
Colorist: Stephen Derluguian
Re-Recording Mixer: Sean Higgins
Archival Coordinator: Sarah Stewart
On-Set Digital Archivist: Tyler Somerhalder
Associate Producers: Jaimie Woo, Caley Fox Shannon
Post-Production Supervisor: Dillon Brown
Post-Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Brooke
Supervising Editor: Federico Conforti
Sound Effects Editor: Tom Boykin
Additional Orchestration: Roger Julià Satorra
Scoring Mixer: Brad Haehnel

More from The New York Times Video:
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[benproudfoot]

Hey, everybody. I’m Ben, the filmmaker and creator of the ALMOST FAMOUS series. Happy to answer any questions!

[Ananse]

This man is almost 90 and looks like he’s in his 60s wow

[leod]

He did ALLL that even did it correctly and still got denied. The US government needs to honor this man.

[ricobhi]

This all happened 50 years ago, and you can see that Mr. Dwight still feels this pain as strongly as if it all happened just yesterday. He made me feel his pain. I'm grateful for him telling his story. And as a Black man, I'm grateful for the legacy that he has created through his memorials.

[jasmineartis]

He saw a PICTURE of a black man a person he never spoke to and that changed the course of his life THATS why representation matters.

[Choxchip]

Make a movie about him...just like hidden figures his story needs to be told!!!

[Libturd]

"You can teach your brain to help you, or you can teach your brain to destroy you" No truer words were said

[reggiefurlow]

Can't even fathom the open racism this man faced

[julesindigoblue]

This man survived such horrific discrimination! It’s unfathomable to me that such a beautiful mind had to endure such hatred....if anyone has the strength to become an astronaut, it’s him. What an amazing person. If they can send a teacher to space, why not take him next time?

[vishnu]

60 years later. He still can't get over it. It broke my heart when he started to cry😢😢

[GOization]

His footprints cannot be found on the moon. But his fingerprints can be found on sculptures across the country.

[mrcalvinwalker]

I’m just not prepared for how fiercely you’re hitting me with these amazing episodes so suddenly. 😭

[brodyharris]

OpDocs is criminally underrated. They are all so well put together. I feel privileged to know about them. Thank you for posting

[agriswold]

This saddens me so.... but he’s strength ... is admirable .

[aimmortalslegacy]

It's funny how his father tried teaching him the reality of racism and the world that he lived in, and his mother taught him to overcome that reality. The truth is so bitter sweet, because they both were right.. and they both were wrong.. nonetheless he was able to inspire others with what his parents taught him, through memorial of those who encountered some of the same challenges.

[budasgal]

It’s AF fighter pilots like you, sir, who paved the way for other minority AF pilots like my husband. Maybe you didn’t make it to space but you made a difference! Thank you!

[a.r.c]

Through his sculptures, this man was able to attain more immortality than any astronaut out there. What a wonderful human. Inspiring!

[yoheimito]

I'm slowly starting to love this *Almost Famous* series

[PepinsSpot]

The sound of broken dreams. How come I never heard this story? How come no one talks about it?

[truthteller]

Lord when he started crying...wasn't prepared for that not one bit.