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鈥�Contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
Feb. 11 Update: the time and location of the presentation has been moved to 4:30 p.m. in the Kenney Hall Bioethics Auditorium
For nearly 35 years, Carl McNair has been sharing stories that celebrate the contributions African-American 鈥渉eroes鈥� and 鈥渟heroes鈥� have made to the U.S. space program. The stories of these highly trained and extremely dedicated aerospace and STEM professionals are rarely shared in our history books or in schools.
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, McNair will share those stories 鈥� including one very personal account 鈥� during a lecture entitled, 鈥淔rom Slave Ship to Spaceship: African-American Pioneers in Space.鈥� The lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Kenney Hall Bioethics Auditorium.
The Jan. 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger disaster is seared into our nation鈥檚 collective memory. McNair鈥檚 brother, physicist Dr. Ronald E. McNair, was among the five NASA astronauts, one payload specialist and one civilian schoolteacher who died 73 seconds after liftoff. McNair recounts his brother鈥檚 inspirational story of poverty, discrimination, determination and unwavering faith in his best-selling book, In the Spirit of Ronald E. McNair-Astronaut.
McNair鈥檚 presentation will also include an exclusive sneak-peak screening of the Smithsonian Channel鈥檚 documentary Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier, which will premiere on Feb. 24. It charts the country鈥檚 efforts to launch the first African-American astronaut into space at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Like his brother, McNair is a graduate of North Carolina A&T University. He is the founder and CEO of McNair Achievement Programs LLC, which designs, develops and implements successful educational programs that promote academic excellence and personal achievement.
In addition to part of the university鈥檚 Black History Month programming, McNair鈥檚 lecture is part of its annual Lyceum Series, which leverages artistic, literary and cultural programs to spotlight contemporary societal topics for students and the surrounding community. For more information about the series and updates on future presenters, visit .
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