We Could Not Fail

This “surprising and insightful” history profiles ten African American engineers, mathematicians, and others who worked for NASA’s space program (Lauren Helmuth, New York Times Book Review ). The Space Age began just as the struggle for civil rights forced Americans to confront the bitter legacy of slavery, discrimination, and violence against African Americans. NASA itself became an agent of social change, with President Kennedy opening its workplaces to African Americans. In We Could Not Fail