It was 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, when the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to the excitement of millions of viewers. Just 73 seconds after takeoff, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing the seven crew members, including pioneering African-American astronaut Ronald McNair. McNair had overcome the racism of the Jim Crow South to excel in science and his field of work. With an interest in science, the South Carolina native grew up attending North Carolina A&T University as white colleges in South Carolina wouldn’t accept Black students who wanted to study physics or engineering at that time. The Challenger disaster killed killing the seven crew members, including pioneering African-American astronaut Ronald McNair.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 18, 2020 19:07 UTC