Astronaut Ed Dwight & Co-Director Lisa Cortes spoke to Bill about THE SPACE RACE - it weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden, among many others.
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THE SPACE RACE SYNOPSIS
THE SPACE RACE weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden, among many others. In THE SPACE RACE, directors Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés profile the pioneering Black pilots, scientists and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight's quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station, the story of African Americans at NASA is a tale of world events colliding with the aspirations of uncommon men. The bright dreams of Afrofuturism become reality in THE SPACE RACE, turning science fiction into science fact and forever redefining what "the right stuff" looks like, giving us new heroes to celebrate and a fresh history to explore.
ED DWIGHT BIO
Ed Dwight, the first African American to be trained as an astronaut and the sculptor of major monuments, was born on the outskirts of Kansas City, Kansas in 1933. His father, Ed Dwight, Sr., played second base for the Kansas City Monarchs in baseball's Negro League. Child rearing fell primarily on Ed's Catholic mother, Georgia Baker Dwight, who convinced her son that he could accomplish almost anything. Dwight grew up as an avid reader and a talented artist who was mechanically gifted and enjoyed working with his hands.
Dwight joined the United States Air Force in 1953, pursuing his dream of flying jet aircraft. He became a USAF test pilot, and in 1961 earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Arizona State University. At the suggestion of the National Urban League's Whitney M. Young, Jr., the Kennedy administration chose Captain Ed Dwight as the first Negro astronaut trainee in 1962. Catapulted to instant fame, he was featured on the cover of Ebony, Jet, Sepia and in news magazines around the world.
Facing severe discrimination from other astronauts, Dwight persevered until President Kennedy's death, when government officials created a threatening atmosphere. He resigned in 1966, never having gone into space. Dwight's talents then led him to work as an engineer, in real estate, and for IBM. In the mid 1970s, he turned to art and studied at the University of Denver, learning to operate the university's metal casting foundry. He received a Masters of Fine Arts in 1977 and gained a reputation as a sculptor. Ed Dwight Studios in Denver is now one of the largest privately owned production and marketing facilities in the western United States. His engineering background helps him face the problems of creating monumental sculpture and his well-stocked library of African American history and culture informs his work. Dwight is recognized as the innovator of the negative space technique.
Dwight has sculpted great works of celebratory African American art, including International Monuments to the Underground Railroad in Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario; a Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial in Denver's City Park; a bust of George Washington Williams in the Ohio State Capitol in Columbus, Ohio; the Black Patriots Memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C.; the South Carolina Black History Memorial in Columbia, South Carolina; and the Alex Haley-Kunta Kinte Memorial in Annapolis, Maryland. The Quincy Jones Sculpture Park in Chicago brings his total major works to 35, some of which are on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institute.
LISA CORTES BIO
Award-winning director Lisa Cortés foments bold, explosive art that gives voice to the silenced and shunned. From helping launch the revolutionary artists Run DMC and the Beastie Boys to executive-producing the Academy Award®-winning film Precious,. Cortés sparks cultural change through works of unrivaled excellence. Little Richard: I Am Everything (CNN Films), which she directed and produced, had its world premiere as the opening night selection in the U.S. documentary competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by Magnolia Films. Also premiering at Sundance was Invisible Beauty, the documentary about Black fashion industry pioneer Bethann Hardison, which she produced.
In 2020, Cortés directed and produced All In: The Fight For Democracy, tracing the violent history of the voting rights struggle. Emmy®-winning HBO documentary The Apollo (2019), which Cortés produced, explores African American cultural and political history through the story of the legendary Apollo Theater. Cortés executive produced Precious (2009) which was nominated for six Academy Awards and won two. The film received the Sundance Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for best drama. Her film productions have received over 80 international awards and nominations. Cortés launched her early career as a music executive at the iconic Def Jam label and Rush Artist Management; she was also vice president of Artist and Repertoire at Mercury Records and founded the Loose Cannon label. Cortés is a member of the producers' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She serves on the boards of film at Lincoln Center, Independent Television Services (ITVS), the celebrated artists' community in Saratoga Springs Yaddo, and the Trajal Harrell Dance Company, as well as the DGA Focus on Women Committee.