Page numbers in italics indicate photographs and illustrations.
Abernathy, Ralph, 130, 279n104
Adler Planetarium, 107
Advanced Research Project Agency, 26
Aerojet Corporation, 117, 209–210
aerospace industry spending, 63
Aerospace Research Pilot Course (ARPC), 93, 95–96, 101, 262n4
Akens, David S., 161
Alabama A&M College: African American professors, 236; and Blue Jean Easter, 132; and computer sciences, 181–182; and Foster, 152; funding for library, 176; and Jennings, 221; King’s speech at, 130; and Midwest Stock Exchange protest, 133–134; and NASA grants, 173; and NASA-sponsored engineering programs, 14, 249n17; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 137–138; and school desegregation, 141–143; and segregated training, 168; and sit-in protests, 127
Alabama Chamber of Commerce, 207
Alabama State Archives, 184
Alabama State Homebuilders Association, 206–207, 212
Ali, Muhammad, 198
Allenhurst, Florida, 4, 34–35, 37, 48–49, 99
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 159
American Century, 54
Anderko, Kurt Peter, 56–57
Anderson, Clinton P., 171
antidiscrimination orders, 58–59, 258n72
Apollo program, 68–69, 120, 218, 230–231
Applewhite, Walter, 188
Arizona State University, 92
Armstrong, Neil, 259n19
Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), 25, 141, 158–159, 214
Associated Negro Press, 64
Associated Press (AP), 131, 134
Association of Huntsville Area Contractors (AHAC), 174–176, 175, 225
astronaut corps: and civil rights protests, 82–85, 85–87; first African American astronaut, 238; and minority recruitment, 90–91, 91–93, 93–95, 95–104, 101; and NASA’s segregated meeting policy, 205; National Air and Space Museum panel, 238–239; and public image of NASA, 89–90; women astronauts, 12, 157, 202, 238–239
astronautical engineering, 230
Athens, Alabama, 199
“Atlanta Compromise” speech (Washington), 29
Atlanta Daily World, 46, 74, 87–88, 140–141, 148
Atomic Energy Commission, 178
Aviation Week, 210
Baggs, Earl, 74
Ballad of Easy Rider (The Byrds), 69
Baltimore Afro-American, 46, 80–81, 95, 96
Barclay, J. A., 147
Belafonte, Harry, 254n40
Bell, William, 40–41
Beschloss, Michael, 43
Billups, Val, 79
Bims, Hamilton, 185
Birmingham, Alabama, 81, 143, 169, 207
black press: and attitudes toward space program, 279n104; coverage of African American NASA employees, 80–81, 92–96, 101, 200, 237; and equal employment opportunity, 64; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 127, 131; and Miles College, 205, 212–213; and NASA’s co-op program, 195; and Space Age ideology, 73–75, 97; and Taylor, 222–223; and Triana, Alabama, 185, 186–187; and Wilkins, 46
Blacks and Social Change (Button), 161, 227, 274n79
Blue Jean Easter protest, 131–132
Bluford, Guion Stewart “Guy,” 12, 238
Boggs, Hale, 207–208
Bolden, Charles, 239
Bourda, George, 156; black press coverage, 237; and civil rights activism, 190–191, 236–237; and the civil rights era, 8; cultural influence of, 223; on employment discrimination, 190; and NASA’s co-op program, 195–196, 201–202; pioneering role of, 218–219; on segregation in Huntsville, 197, 198–200; and Thurman, 194
Brevard County, Florida: African American history in, 34; and the civil rights era, 7–8; demographics of, 44; and Moore, 18–19; NAACP chapter, 18; NASA’s role in racial moderation, 226–228; and Ray’s background, 32; and school segregation, 28; selected as launch site, 36; sociological research on, 160, 162–163
Brevard County Historical Commission, 252n10
Brevard County Housing Authority, 44
Brevard Engineering College (BEC), 28, 142, 227, 236
Brother Protector (Hilty), 274n78
Brown, George, 78
Brown v. Board of Education, 29, 92, 175
Bryant, Farris, 226
Bryant, Nick, 274n78
Burch, Dean, 210–211
Burl, Bertha, 127
Burley, Dan, 88
Bush, Vannevar, 25
Button, James W., 161, 227, 274n79
Byrds, The, 69
Bystander, The (Bryant), 274n78
C-141 Starlifter, 63
Campbell, Butler, 35, 99, 252n10
Cape Canaveral: and affirmative action, 120; and the civil rights era, 3; described, 34; and employment discrimination, 38; and Florida race relations, 40–41, 46–47, 48; and local politics, 227–228; and NASA’s employment practices, 144; selected as launch site, 36, 41; and sociological research, 160, 161; Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), 34, 99
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 12
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex, 253n21
Caro, Robert, 115
Carpenter, M. Scott, 74
Carroll, Marvin Phillips, 141–143, 145–146, 148
Carruthers, George, Jr.: background, 105–108; and black press coverage, 237; and civil rights activism, 236–237; and the civil rights era, 7; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 134–135, 149; love of science, 108–111; and NASA culture, 112–113; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 114; and race issues in NASA, 117, 167; and sociological research, 160; telescope designed by, 121–122
Carruthers, George, Sr., 105–106
Carter, Wesley, 188
Cash, W. J., 55
Cashin, John, 129, 131, 135, 140
Cate, Ben, 205
Catts, Sidney J., 13
census data, 224, 230–232, 241–245
Central High School, 12
Charles, Ray, 198
Chicago, Illinois, 61, 107–108
Chicago Defender, 51–52, 81, 169, 190–191, 195, 213
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 16
Civil Rights Act (1957), 57–58
Civil Rights Act (1964): and Carruthers, 122; and the civil rights era, 2, 7; and equal employment opportunity, 212; and government hiring practices, 33; and NASA’s influence, 210; and NASA’s recruitment, 114–116; passage of, 110; and social legacy of NASA, 234; and Triana, Alabama, 185; and Wallace’s publicity trip, 214
civil rights movement: and the Kennedy administration, 41; and sit-ins, 190–191; and Space Age ideology, 68, 75, 81; and Triana, Alabama, 185. See also desegregation; equal employment opportunity; sit-in movement
Civil Service Commission, 144, 166, 172–173
civil service examinations, 39
Civil War, 4, 13, 32–33, 52, 55
Cleveland Call and Post, 92
Coca-Cola Bottling, 147
Coffee, John, 79
Cold War: and civil rights activism, 128–130; ideological conflict, 43; and military spending, 54–55; origins of, 21–23; and the “Space Age,” 73; and the U.S. space program, 41, 80, 121, 217, 218
Combs, Bert, 72
Committee of Inquiry into the Administration of Justice in the Freedom Struggle, 129
Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, 171
Committee on Fair Employment Practice, 16
“computer” job title, 256n33
computer sciences, 181–182, 202, 230
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), 95, 129
Connally, John, 226
Connor, Eugene “Bull,” 192
Conway, Jack, 177, 178–179, 273n69
Cooper, Gordon, 81, 83, 86, 87, 102
co-op programs, 193
Council on Equal Employment Opportunity, 113
Cronkite, Walter, 81
Crook, Linton, 213
Crossley, Frank, 100; and affirmative action, 59–60; background, 50–51, 51–54; black press coverage, 237; and the civil rights era, 5, 6–7; coping strategies of, 107, 109–110, 125; cultural influence of, 223; education, 65–66; and equal employment opportunity, 57–59, 61–63; at Lockheed, 63; and race issues in NASA, 117
Dallek, Robert, 254n40
Dannenberg, Konrad, 2–3
Darden, Woodrow, 28
Debus, Kurt, 144
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 26
DeGraffenried, Ryan, 132
Dembling, Paul G., 176
demographic changes, 230. See also census data
desegregation: and the civil rights era, 2, 4, 9; and civil rights protests, 83–85, 130; early efforts, 57–59; in Houston, 83–85, 86–87; in Hunstville, 134, 176; and NASA’s employment policies, 110–111; and NASA’s influence, 27, 186, 228–229; opposition to, 28; and Rice Institute, 77–80; and Space Age ideology, 226; and University of Alabama–Huntsville Center, 141–143; and the U.S. military, 15
DeVorkin, David H., 264n15
discrimination. See housing discrimination; segregation
Dodd, Peter, 160–161, 167, 232
Dubone, Tommy, 188, 194–195, 197
Dunn, Jim, 208
Dutton, Frederick, 90
Dwight, Edward J.: and astronaut corps recruitment, 89–90, 90–91, 91–93, 93–95, 95–104, 101; black press coverage, 88, 196, 218, 237; and the civil rights era, 6; recruitment to astronaut corps, 95–104; on role in space program, 89
Eastern Conference of Black Mayors, 186
Ebony, 9, 96, 97, 152, 153, 182, 185
economic influence of NASA, 224–225
economic protests, 131–132, 133–134
education color barriers, 2, 4
Edwards Air Force Base, 93, 117, 262n4
Eisenhower, Dwight, 17, 21–22, 24–26, 57–58
electrical engineering, 137, 200, 230
Eliopulos, Dixie, 118
Ellis, William S., 44, 120, 142–143, 149, 210, 269n91
Emancipation Proclamation, 236
Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity, 75
Equal Employment Counseling, 38–39
equal employment opportunity: and the astronaut corps, 95–104; and Cape Canaveral, 38–39, 49; and civil rights activism, 5, 168–170; and Crossley, 57–59; and federal compliance surveys, 170–173, 178–179; and Foster, 151; and Huntsville’s NASA contractors, 174–176; implementation of, 61–63; and Johnson, 170–171, 172; and NASA’s employment practices, 179–180; and race relations at NASA, 159–163, 163–166, 166–168; and social legacy of NASA, 234; and Webb, 144–149, 188
exceptionalism of NASA, 111–113
Executive Order 10925, 58–59
executive orders, 58–59, 111, 170–171, 175
Experimental Test Pilot Course, 262n4, 262n7
Fair Employment Practices Committee, 61
Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph/Telescope, 105, 109, 121
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 199–200
Federal Housing Authority (FHA), 45
Felder, Leon, 127–128
film readers, 138–139
Finney, John, 208
firebombings, 41
Fisher, Allen, 273n69
Fletcher, James, 225
Flight Research Center, 117
Florida Democratic Party, 18
Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), 1, 4, 27–28, 98
Florida Land and Lumber Company, 35
Florida Launch Operations Center (LOC), 253n21
Ford, Johnny, 185
foreign policy, 21–22. See also Cold War
Fortune magazine, 63
Foster, Clyde, 154, 155; background, 152–153; black press coverage of, 237; and the civil rights era, 8; and computer sciences, 181–182; cultural influence of, 223; and equal employment opportunity at NASA, 151–152, 171, 236–237; hired by NASA, 158–159; and Jennings, 221; on NASA-sponsored engineering programs, 249n17; and social pressure to succeed, 237; and social segregation at NASA, 163–164, 167, 168; and Triana, Alabama, 182–187
Foster, Roz, 48–49
Freedom Riders, 41, 129, 191, 254n40
Friedman, Herbert, 108
Gagarin, Yuri, 73
Gaines, Arthur, 87
Gaines, Jeannie, 87
Gary, William, 18
Gemini program, 102
gender discrimination, 202
General Electric (GE), 62, 147
Gibson, Andrew, 36
Gilruth, Robert, 205–206
Glenn, John, 80–81, 87–88, 94, 95, 129
Golden 13, The, 52–53
Gorman, Delano, 125
Graham, Hugh Davis, 149, 247n8, 258n72, 274n79, 275n24
Great Society initiative, 6
Greensboro, North Carolina, 4, 29, 190
Greenwood, Mississippi, 95
Gross, Courtland, 64
Guilian, W. E., 164
Hall, Richard: and Blue Jean Easter, 131; and the civil rights era, 8; education of, 142; and employment discrimination, 139; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 129, 134–136, 149; and Huntsville’s social structure, 124–126, 236; and NASA’s impact on Huntsville, 226; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 138–139; on protesting, 123; and school segregation, 140, 143; and segregated training, 168
Hancock County, Mississippi, 160, 229
Hansberry, Loraine, 169
Harris, Jack, 84
Harris, Ruth Bates, 225
Hatch, Emmett, 93
Hayakawa, S. I., 51–52, 52–54, 65–66, 68
Hearns, Henry, 117
Hereford, Sonnie, 125–126, 129–131, 133, 135–136, 153, 188–189
Herman’s Hermits, 70
Hilty, James, 274n78
Hitler, Adolf, 173
Hobby, Oveta Culp, 84
Hodges, Luther, 37
Hodgson, Al, 206–207
Hodgson, Alfred S., 118–119
Hold On! (There’s No Place Like Space) (1966), 70
Holloman, Jerry, 258n72
Holman, Mary A., 163
Holmes, Wade, 35
Hood, Jimmy, 148
House Rules Committee, 115
Housing and Home Finance Agency, 46–47
housing discrimination: in Brevard County, 44–48, 227; at Cape Canaveral, 80; and Huntsville, 173, 175–176, 196; and NASA’s influence, 7, 186, 222, 227; in Ohio, 96; and public opinion, 110; and Smoot, 193
Houston, Texas: and civil rights protests, 82–85, 85–88; and desegregation process, 228–229; and federal employment of African Americans, 231; race problems in, 75–77; and Rice University, 77–80; social impact of the space program, 80–82
Houston Astros, 82
Houston Chamber of Commerce, 76
Houston Power and Light, 77
Hubble Space Telescope, 109, 264n15
human resources, 60–61
Huntsville, Alabama: and civil right activism, 126–128, 128–130, 130–133, 133–134, 134–136, 149–150; and NASA’s employment practices, 137–139, 144–147; racial background of, 123–124, 124–126; and school desegregation, 139–141, 141–143, 144–149; sociological research on, 161
Hunstville Center, 140, 141–142, 145
Huntsville Chamber of Commerce, 212
Huntsville Community Service Committee (CSC), 129, 130, 140, 141
Huntsville Contractors Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, 174
Huntsville Easter Parade, 132
Huntsville Home Builders Association, 208
Huntsville Industrial Expansion Committee, 208, 209
Huntsville News, 209
Huntsville Research Park, 147–148
Huntsville Rotary Club, 213
Hurston, Zora Neal, 35–36
Hyder, Delano: and the civil rights era, 8; on culture of Huntsville, 123; education of, 142; and employment discrimination, 139; hired by NASA, 159; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 129, 134–136, 149; and Huntsville’s social structure, 124, 125–126, 236; and NASA’s impact on Huntsville, 226; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 138–139; and school segregation, 140, 143, 168; and social segregation at NASA, 167
IBM, 147
I Dream of Jeannie (television series), 70
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), 51, 56, 60
Indian River Lagoon, 35
institutional honors, 27
integration, 78
International Association of Machinists, 63
international relations, 21–22. See also Cold War
International Space Station, 238
Jackson, Mississippi, 203
Jackson Chamber of Commerce, 203
Javits, Jacob, 176
Jemison, Mae, 12, 157, 238–239
Jenkins, Walter, 203–204
Jennings, James: career at NASA, 221; and the civil rights era, 6; and computer sciences, 181–182; and employment discrimination, 136, 139; on lack of opportunity for black community, 56; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 113, 139; pioneering role of, 218; on social legacy of NASA, 234, 235
Jetsons, The (television series), 70
Jim Crow segregation: and the Civil Rights Act, 115; and the civil rights era, 2; and Florida, 3, 13; and Foster, 152; and the Great Migration, 234; and Huntsville’s social structure, 124, 125–126; and the U.S. Navy, 52; and Washington, D. C., 108
John F. Kennedy Library Project, 221
Johnson, A. L., 216–217
Johnson, Lyndon B.: and the Civil Rights Act, 114–115; and the civil rights era, 5–6, 7, 8; and Cold War politics, 23–26; commitment to equality, 207; and the Dwight case, 102; and equal employment opportunity, 57, 59, 62, 65–66, 169–170, 171–172, 188, 233; and impact of the Civil Rights Act, 211; and NASA’s hiring practices, 77; and NASA’s impact on Huntsville, 226; and NASA’s influence in the South, 224; and NASA’s segregated meeting policy, 205–206; and PCEEO meeting, 176–178, 179; and Plans for Progress, 65; and plan to transform the South, 54–57, 135–136, 145, 180–181, 219, 222–223; and social legacy of NASA, 234, 237, 239–240; and Space Age ideology, 72–73, 74; and Taylor, 221–222; and Webb, 202–204
Jones, Bill, 217
Jones, Robert, 231
Journal of Negro Education, 141
Joyner, Mary, 127
Julius Montgomery Pioneer Award, 27–28, 98
Kansas City Call, 92
Katzenbach, Nicholas, 148
Keith, Marshall, 127, 129, 135
Kennedy, John F.: and affirmative action, 60; and antidiscrimination directives, 172; and astronaut corps recruitment, 91; and civil rights achievements, 110; and the Civil Rights Act, 114–116; and the civil rights era, 5; and Cold War politics, 80; and the Dwight case, 102, 103–104; and equal employment opportunity, 49, 57–58, 59, 64, 166, 188; and Moon landing program, 21, 36, 41–43, 101, 159; and NASA’s legacy, 222–223; and Plans for Progress, 64–65; and plan to transform the South, 180–181; and political pressure on Wallace, 146; and social legacy of NASA, 234, 237, 239–240; and the “Space Age,” 68–69; and space program spending, 78; and Webb, 202–203
Kennedy, Robert: and astronaut corps recruitment, 91–93; and the Dwight case, 103; and equal employment opportunity, 169, 170; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 133; and NASA’s segregated meeting policy, 204; and PCEEO meeting, 176–178, 178–180, 274n78; and political pressure on Wallace, 146; and school desegregation, 143; and selection of Cape Canaveral, 36
Kennedy, Stanley, 235
Kennedy Space Center, 4, 113, 120, 253n21
Keuper, Jerry, 28
Kindleberger, J. H. “Dutch,” 63
King, Martin Luther, Jr.: assassination of, 108–109, 236–237; Birmingham arrest, 143; and the Civil Rights Act, 114–115; civil rights efforts in Alabama, 168; and the civil rights era, 10; and early civil rights efforts, 17; and equal employment opportunity, 57, 58; and Huntsville, 130; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 104; and nonviolent protest, 47, 135; support for NASA employees, 197
King, Otis: and the civil rights era, 6; and Houston civil rights protests, 82–85, 85–87; and Houston race relations, 75–76; and Kennedy’s assassination, 115; and location of MSC, 231; and Mission Control site selection, 79–80
Knotts, Don, 70
Korean War, 153
Ku Klux Klan, 4, 14, 19, 76, 79, 231
Lang, Charles, 94
Laughing Waters, 35
Lavelle, Eddie, 93
“law of headlines,” 275n24
Lawrence, Robert, 238
Lawson, Bill, 86
Lee, Harper, 41
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (King), 143
Lewis, Jerry, 70
Liston, Sonny, 198
Little Rock, Arkansas, 12
Little Rock Nine, 12
Lockheed Missiles and Space, 194
Lost in Space (television series), 70
Low, George, 234
Lowry Air Force Base, 92
Lucy, Autherine, 140–141
lunch counter protests: in Baton Rouge, 190; in Florida, 29; in Houston, 83–84, 86; in Huntsville, 130, 131, 134, 176; and public opinion, 110. See also sit-in movement
Madison County, Alabama, 163
Mahaffey, Professor, 35
Manhattan Project, 33
Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC): African American employees of, 120; and the civil rights era, 8; location of, 231; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 113; and NASA’s segregated meeting policy, 205; and organizational character of NASA, 116; and race issues in site selection, 77; and Rice Institute, 79; sociological research on, 160; and the Texas political landscape, 228–229
“Man Will Conquer Space Soon” (von Braun), 106
March on Washington, 165
Marshall, Burke, 143
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), 154; African American employees of, 119–120; and Alabama’s race relations, 209–210; and the civil rights era, 2–3, 7, 8; and equal employment opportunity, 62; and the Florida Launch Operations Center, 253n21; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 135; and Huntsville’s NASA contractors, 175–176; and NASA’s co-op program, 195; and NASA’s employment practices, 144, 171; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 113, 137–138; and NASA’s segregated meeting policy, 206; personnel transfers, 212; and pressure on Wallace, 145–146; promotion of African American employees, 223; and race relations, 153; and rocket test firings, 157, 200–201, 215; and school segregation, 140; and Smoot, 191–193; and training for black employees, 168; and Triana, Alabama, 182; and Wallace’s publicity trip, 214
Martin Marietta, 194
Matusow, Allan J., 274n79
McCabe, Thomas, 147
McDonnell Douglas, 219
McGlathery, David, 141–143, 145–146, 148–149, 168, 171, 269n91
McQuaid, Kim, 225
Mead, Margaret, 23
Mease, Quentin, 76–77, 82–83, 85, 86, 115
Medaris, John, 25
Melbourne, Florida, 28, 30, 228
“Memorandum on Racial or Other Discrimination in Federal Employee Recreational Associations,” 172
Meredith, James, 29, 41, 42, 143
Michoud Facility, 208
Midwest Stock Exchange, 133–134
“Mike” nuclear test, 22
military/industrial complex speech (Eisenhower), 22, 26
military service of African Americans, 15, 38–39
military spending, 55
Missile Test Project, 28
Missionary Baptist Church, 130–131
Mission Control, 43–44, 77, 79, 82
Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), 8, 226, 232
Monroe, Roscoe, 95
Montgomery, Alabama, 41
Montgomery, Julius, 157; on Cape Canaveral, 253n25; and the Civil Rights Act, 115–116; and the civil rights era, 3–5; coping strategies of, 107, 109–110; and equal employment opportunity, 57, 60–61; and Florida race relations, 14; and military service, 12; and National Air and Space Museum panel, 238–239, 281n; and the Pioneer Award, 27, 98; and race relations at NASA, 34, 201; and recruitment efforts, 39; and social pressure to succeed, 237; and social segregation at NASA, 163–164, 167
Montgomery Advertiser, 93
Monthly Labor Review, 233
Moon landing program: announcement of, 21–22, 159; and astronaut corps recruitment, 91–93; black press coverage of, 195–196; celebrations of, 186; and the civil rights era, 7; and Cold War politics, 80; and Dwight, 89; and equal employment opportunity, 61–62, 120–122; and the Far Ultraviolet Camera, 109; Florida’s importance to, 13; Foster’s role in, 181; impact of African American contributions, 218–220; and Kennedy administration priorities, 21, 36, 41–43, 101, 159; and launch site selection, 36; and NASA’s social impact, 49, 56, 68, 188; and recruitment of African Americans, 153; and school desegregation, 143; and Space Age ideology, 70, 72; and test rocket firings, 215, 217; and use of existing communities, 33
Moore, Barbara, 98
Moore, Harriette, 19
Moore, Harry T., 3–4, 17–20, 40, 45, 48, 136
Moore, Mary Ann, 135
Morton, Edward Earl, 164
Moss, Steven, 9
“NASA and Racial Equality in the South, 1961–1968” (Moss), 9
Nation, 44, 120, 142, 149, 210
National Academy of Arts and Sciences, 28, 48
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), 112
National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958), 26
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). See specific facilities and branches of NASA
National Air and Space Museum, 237–238, 281n
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): and the civil rights era, 1–2; and employment discrimination, 45; and equal employment opportunity, 57, 64; and Mease, 82; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 104; and organization of protests, 47; and school desegregation, 29; and voter education, 95
National Defense Education Act, 56
National Geographic, 69
National Labor Relations Act, 16
National Negro Congress, 64
National Space Council, 6, 224
National Urban League, 65, 93–94, 103, 104
Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), 108, 112
Navy Test Pilot School, 262n7
“Negroes Who Help Conquer Space” (Franklin and Collier-Thomas), 9
Negro in the Aerospace Industry, The (Northrup), 120, 233
Neufeld, Michael, 173–174
“New Frontier” program, 74–75
news media, 80–81. See also black press; specific media outlets
“The New World of Space” (Johnson), 72–73
New York Amsterdam News, 1, 11, 73
New York Stock Exchange, 134
New York Times: on African Americans in NASA, 276n26; on Alabama politics, 210; on Huntsville protests, 126–127; and NASA’s co-op program, 195–196; on potential move of MSFC, 208; on “the Johnson Treatment,” 204; and Wallace’s publicity trip, 213–214, 216; and Williams, ix, 237
nonviolent protest, 47–48, 95, 135, 151–152
North American Aviation, 63
North Brevard Heritage Foundation, 48–49
Northrup, Herbert R., 66, 120, 232–233
Northrop Corporation, 147
Northrop Space Laboratories, 209–210
Nuclear and Ion Physics Branch, 141
nuclear weapons, 22–23
Oakland, California, 71
Office of Presidential Science Advisor, 26
oral history projects, 10, 49, 162, 177, 221, 223
Ordway, Frederick I., III, 124
Page, Thornton, 121
Patrick Air Force Base, 46
Patterson, John, 139
Paul, Richard, 9
Pearl Harbor, 25
Pearl River County, Mississippi, 160, 229
Pearson, William, 127
Peenemünde Army Research Center, 211
Pelican Island Destroyer Base, 77
Perry, Matthew C., 52
Phelps, J. Alfred, 103
Philadelphia, Mississippi, 199–200
Philadelphia Inquirer, 96
Pilot Selection Team, 92
Pittsburgh Courier, 127
Plans for Progress, 65, 169, 171, 177, 178
police brutality, 144
political color barriers, 2
political influence of NASA, 224–225
poll taxes, 18
popular culture, 69–70
poster walks, 133
Prairie View A&M, 176
Presbyterianism, 161
President Kennedy: Profile of Power (Reeves), 254n40
President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (PCEEO): and affirmative action, 59; and Carruthers, 122; and civil rights activism, 168–170; and discrimination at Cape Canaveral, 47; and equal employment opportunity, 58–59, 65, 67; and Hodgson, 118; and Johnson’s goals, 5, 6, 115, 207, 221–222, 224; and the Marshall Space Flight Center, 164; and Mease, 85; and Robert Kennedy, 176–178; and Washington politics, 247n8; and Webb, 144–145; and Wilkins, 45
President’s Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing (PCEOH), 45, 47
Progressive Youth Association (PYA), 83–85, 85–87
public housing, 44–45. See also housing discrimination
public schools, 13
Quality Assurance Laboratory, 200
racism: and Alabama’s race relations, 210; and astronaut corps recruitment, 96; and the civil rights era, 5, 8–9; and the Dwight case, 102–103; in Florida, 20; in Houston, 77, 79; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 134; and Johnson’s commitment to equality, 207; in Mississippi, 232; and NASA contractors in Huntsville, 175; and NASA’s influence, 27, 111; and results of civil rights movement, 217–218; and social structure of Huntsville, 124; in the South, 39–41; and varied coping strategies, 107; and von Braun’s history, 153; and Wallace, 139; Watson’s experience with, 189; and World War II, 68. See also segregation
Ragland, Dayton W., 92
Raisin in the Sun, A (Hansberry), 169
Randolph, A. Philip, 104
Range Rats, 20
Ray, Charlie, 129
Ray, Theodis: on Allenhurst, 35–36; and arrival of NASA, 35–37; background, 32, 34–35; on Brevard County, 32–33, 34; coping strategies of, 107; hometown of, 162; and housing discrimination, 44, 47; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 135; and NASA’s hiring practices, 37–38, 39–40; and race relations at NASA, 48–49; on segregation in Alabama, 198–199; and sit-in protests, 38
Rayzor, J. Newton, 78–79
recruitment efforts of NASA: and Alabama’s image, 207–211; and the astronaut corps, 90–91; and the civil rights era, 8; and Florida race relations, 28; and Huntsville’s NASA contractors, 174–176; and location of black schools, 137; and NASA’s employment practices, 181–182; and racism in the South, 39–41; and Smoot, 192–193; sociological research on, 162–163
Redstone Arsenal, 126–127, 132, 134, 138, 140, 148, 177
Rees, Eberhard, 236
Reeves, Richard, 254n40
Reluctant Astronaut, The (1967), 70
Republican Party, 6, 22, 23–24
Research Projects Division, 141
Rettaliata, John T., 60
Reuther, Walter, 273n69
Rice, Horace “Pap,” 125
Rice Institute (Rice University), 77–79, 166–167, 228–229
Robert Kennedy and His Times (Schlesinger), 273n69, 274n78
Rocket City, USA (Akens), 161
Roman, Nancy Grace, 264n15
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 16, 57, 61, 104
Rose, Frank, 214
Rosen, Milton, 108
Rosewood Massacre, 13
Rostow, Eugene, 254n40
Russell, Richard, 25
Sanders, Charles, 96
Sanderson, Art, 128
satellites, 23
Saturn 1-B rockets, 200
Saturn V rockets, 69, 80, 89–90, 127, 200, 215–216
Schlesinger, Arthur, 273n69, 274n78
school curricula, 161
Scott Paper, 147
Seamans, Robert, 171
Second Reconstruction, 55
segregation: and achievements of the civil rights movement, 217; and aerospace industry recruitment, 233; in Alabama, 123, 125–126, 130, 132, 134, 139–141, 141–143; and Brevard Engineering College, 28, 142, 227, 236; and the civil rights era, 8; in employment opportunity, 249n16; in Houston, 75–76, 86–87; Montgomery’s experience with, 15–16; and NASA’s co-op program, 197–199; and NASA’s influence, 225–226, 228–229; and NASA’s recruitment difficulties, 209; and NASA’s segregated meeting policy, 200, 203–206, 223; sociological research on, 160, 163; and training for black employees, 168; and Wallace, 123–124, 132, 139–140, 141–143, 145–148, 180, 197–198, 207, 216, 226; Watson on, 196. See also racism
Senate Armed Services Committee, 25
Senate Preparedness Subcommittee, 25
Sepia, 93
sharecropping, 5–6
Shepard, Alan, Jr., 1, 41, 101
Simon, Roger, 275n24
Simpson, George, 80
sit-in movement: and Carruthers, 122; and changing tactics of civil rights movement, 110; and the civil rights era, 4–5; and Cold War politics, 83–84; and Houston, 83–84, 87; and Huntsville, 125, 126–127, 128–129, 130–131, 133–134, 134–136; and Watson and Bourda, 190–191
Sitkoff, Harvard, 274n79
Slattery, Bart, Jr., 127, 147–148
slavery, 34
Smoot, Charles, 191–193, 194, 197, 225, 229, 239
social conservatism, 161
Soil Conservation Service, 16
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), 95, 130
Southern University in Baton Rouge (SU-BR), 190, 193–194, 195, 196, 200, 202
Soviet Union, 23, 43, 218. See also Cold War
Space, Science, and Urban Life conference, 145
Space Act, 112
Space Age ideology: and African American contributions to space program, 97; and civil rights activism, 87–88; and the civil rights era, 6–7; and futurism, 70–73; and Houston politics, 75–77; ideals of, 73–75; and management philosophy, 145; and NASA’s role in racial moderation, 226–228; and popular culture, 68–70; and social equality, 159–163
Space Business Daily, 211
“Space Crescent” articles (Ellis), 44
Spacemobile Program, 94
Space Race, 20–27
Space Research Pilot Course, 262n7
Spielman, E. J. (Jack), 165–166, 166–167, 223
Star Trek (television series), 70
Stearns, Eldrewey, 82–85, 85–86
Stevenson, Adlai, 52
Stewart, John F., 221–222
Strange Demise of Jim Crow, The (1998), 84
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), 95, 203, 204
Stuhlinger, Ernst, 142, 269n91
Tass, 102
Taylor, Hobart, Jr., 47, 85, 170, 174, 176–177, 221–223, 239
telescopes, 105–107, 109, 121–122, 264n15
“Telestar” (The Tornadoes), 69
Teller, Edward, 25
Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State College (A&I), 54
test firings, 139, 158–159, 200–201, 215
test pilots, 92
Texas A&M University, 78
Texas Southern University, 6–7, 82–83, 84, 87
Thompson, Mark A., 279n104
Thurman, Dickie, 193–194
Tiffany, Cyrus, 52
Time, 213–214
Time, Inc., 205
Titusville, Florida, 48, 163, 227–228
Titusville Advocate, 19
tokenism, 223
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee), 41
Tornadoes, The, 69
Troth, Byron, 117–118
Truman, Harry S., 17, 57, 68, 118
Tuskegee Airmen, 238
Tuskegee Institute, 14, 113, 138, 173, 185, 235
Tuttle, W. G. (Gerald), 64
Unfinished Life, An: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 (Dallek), 254n40
unions, 63
United Nations (UN), 57
United Press International (UPI), 131, 209
United States Colored Troops, 35
University of Alabama, 42, 113, 140–142, 146, 152, 201, 214
University of Houston, 78
University of Mississippi, 1, 29, 72
Up with People, 69
urban renewal, 47
USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), 91, 96, 102–103
USAF Experimental Flight Test School, 90
U.S. Air Force, 15, 89–90, 92, 262n4, 262n7
U.S. Congress: and the Civil Rights Act, 57; and Cold War politics, 26; and the Dwight case, 96; and equal employment opportunity, 170; and Kennedy administration priorities, 42, 110–111; and National Defense Education Act, 56; and the Texas political landscape, 229; and the Voting Rights Act, 185, 213
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 16, 184–185
U.S. Department of Defense, 46–47
U.S. Department of Justice: and Birmingham protests, 144; and desegregation, 58, 142–143; and literature of civil rights movement, 5; and political pressure on Wallace, 146–148; role in civil rights narrative, 1
U.S. Department of Labor, 58, 173
U.S. Department of State, 177
U.S. Information Agency, 81, 91
U.S. Marine Corps, 38
U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School, 51
U.S. Navy, 51–52
U.S. News and World Report, 59
U.S. Supreme Court, 18, 41, 175, 190
V2 rockets, 173
Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), 34, 99
Verne, Jules, 69
Veterans Administration (VA), 45
Vietnam War, 47, 68, 81, 83, 215
Viking Rocket Story, The (Rosen), 108
Vogel, Lawrence W., 203–204, 215–216
von Braun, Wernher, 156, 157; and Carruthers, 106–107, 108; and the civil rights era, 2–3, 8, 10; and civil rights protests in Huntsville, 127, 133; and Cold War politics, 25; on economic impact of NASA, 208–209; and education in Alabama, 152; and equal employment opportunity, 172–174, 188; and Miles College activism, 205; and Moon landing celebration, 186; and NASA contractors in Huntsville, 175–176; and NASA’s co-op program, 193; and NASA’s employment practices, 144, 165–166, 211–213; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 113, 179–180, 181; and NASA’s segregated meeting policy, 206; and northern perceptions of Alabama, 124; and political pressure on Wallace, 147–148; and race relations in Huntsville, 224–225, 227; replacement of, 236; and school segregation, 142–143; and social legacy of NASA, 239; and social structure of Huntsville, 126; and Wallace’s publicity trip, 214–217
voting rights, 3–4, 18–19, 57, 110, 185, 189–190, 213
Voting Rights Act (1965), 18, 110, 185, 213
Vultee Aircraft, 64
wage inequality, 136
Walker, Jimmy, 127
“The Walk of Ed White” (Up with People), 69
Wallace, George: and Alabama race relations, 40; and the civil rights era, 8; and desegregation pressures, 119; and election campaigns, 132; and Huntsville civil rights protests, 132, 135; and Huntsville’s social structure, 175; Kennedy’s response to, 149; at Marshall Space Flight Center, 157; and NASA’s co-op program, 192; NASA’s pressure on, 225; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 210–211; and northern perceptions of Alabama, 124; publicity trip, 214–217; and Space Museum, 214; support for segregation, 123–124, 132, 139–140, 141–143, 145–148, 180, 197–198, 207, 226
Ward Catholic High, 92
Warmth of Other Suns, The (Wilkerson), 235
War of 1812, 52
War on Poverty, 43–44
Washington, Booker T., 29
Washington, George, 22
Washington, Harold, 117
Washington Star, 209
Watergate, 68
“Water Walkers,” 193, 194–195, 199, 240
Watson, Morgan: background, 188–189; black press coverage, 237; and civil rights activism, 189–190, 190–191, 197, 236–237; and the civil rights era, 3, 8; cultural influence of, 223; on early black NASA professionals, 188; and launch of Moon shot, 218; and NASA’s co-op program, 195–196, 200–202; and NASA’s recruitment efforts, 113; and the National Air and Space Museum panel, 157, 237–239, 281n; and outmigration of blacks, 235; pioneer role of, 218–220; on segregation in Alabama, 198–199; and Thurman, 194; on Triana, Alabama, 182; on Williams, x
Way . . . Way Out (1966), 70
Webb, James, 157; and Alabama politics, 230–231; on Alabama’s image, 207–211; and astronaut corps recruitment, 91; and the civil rights era, 8, 10; and Cold War politics, 80; and equal employment opportunity, 144–149, 188; and Hodgson, 118–119; and housing discrimination issues, 46–47; and Kennedy’s civil rights priorities, 110–111, 112; and MSC site selection, 77; and NASA’s employment practices, 39, 143–147, 165, 170–171, 172–174, 174–176, 181; and NASA’s role in racial moderation, 227, 239; and NASA’s segregated meeting policy, 202–207; and organizational character of NASA, 116–118; and PCEEO meeting, 177–180, 274n78; and presidential elections, 210, 211–212; and selection of Cape Canaveral, 36; and Wallace’s publicity trip, 214–217
Wells, H. G., 69
Wells, W. Oliver, 45
Wharton School of Finance, 66, 120, 232
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, 86
Whipple, Fred, 109
White, Lee C., 46–47
Wicker, Tom, 204
Wilkerson, Isabel, 235–236
Willard, Robinson J., 209
Williams, Frank, ix, 188, 194–195, 195–196, 200, 237
Williams, Tarsia, ix
Wofford, Harris, 254n40
World War I, 55
World War II, 21, 33, 51, 55, 68
Wright, Gavin, 55
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 96, 105–106
Youmans, Hoke, 74
Young, Robert B., 209–210
Young, Whitney, 93–94, 103–104, 218
Zierdt, John G., 214–215