[announcer] Three, two, one.
Lift off!
[reporter] America blasts off
into a new age
of space exploration.
2020 is a year of really
high highs
and really low lows
and an inflection point
as it comes
to where the direction
of the world is going.
[Hakeem] Many people
have pointed out
the similarities between
the current era
with this new space race,
and civil unrest around race.
with this new space race,
and civil unrest around race.
And it's very similar
to the 1960s.
If we can spend
billions of dollars
to put a man on the Moon,
we can spend
billions of dollars
to put God's children
on their own two feet.
The Apollo 8 crew orbited
the Moon in 1968, a violent,
bloody, traumatic year.
[newscaster]
Dr. Martin Luther King
has been shot to death.
I am for law and order.
I am your president
of law and order.
The police k*lled
more people in 2020
than every single year
than every single year
we have on record
except for one.
That could be you.
That could be me.
And now these space
billionaires
are blasting off to space.
Think of what that money
could do on Earth.
We have these soaring
achievements
where we want to go
into outer space
and we can't take care
of business right here
on this planet.
That's a very disturbing
state of affairs.
[protesters] I can't breathe!
[theme music playing]
[pensive music playing]
I often talk about 2020
as a moment
I often talk about 2020
as a moment
when the world cracked
wide open.
[protesters] We want justice!
The year 2020 has definitely
been one of the most
dramatic years
of our lifetimes.
We had a global pandemic.
There was crazy
police violence.
[man speaking]
[Hakeem] And a lot of unrest
in the streets.
[officer] Keep your
[bleep] hands on the wheel.
[man] Yes, sir.
On May 25th,
white police officer,
Derek Chauvin,
kneeled on the neck
of a Black man, George Floyd,
as he begged for his life.
[George panting]
[George panting]
[officer] What do you want?
[George] I can't breathe.
George Floyd told officers
more than 20 times,
"I can't breathe."
I loved my brother.
Everybody loved my brother.
They hurt me
and they hurt my family.
I can't get my brother back.
The m*rder of George Floyd
caused us to contemplate
what racial justice
looks like
in this country
and in this world.
[protesters]
We demand justice!
[protesters]
We demand justice!
We demand justice!
[newsreader] Demonstrations
in dozens of cities
demands for change,
not just in the name of Floyd,
but for African-Americans,
saying they have long been
victimized
by systematic racism
in America.
What I think we saw
is people step up and say
we don't want to live
in a world
that steals the lives
of people
like Ahmaud Arbery,
steals the lives of people
like Breonna Taylor,
steals the lives
of people like George Floyd
and so many other names.
steals the lives
of people like George Floyd
and so many other names.
[newsreader 1] Tamir Rice.
[newsreader 2]
Philando Castile.
-[newsreader 3] Eric Garner.
-[newsreader 4] Walter Scott.
[newsreader 5] Michael Brown.
-[newsreader 6] Freddie Gray.
-[newsreader 7]
Trayvon Martin.
[narrator]
How can our nation achieve
amazing technological
advancements
while also failing
at the most basic essentials
of society?
We ain't playing.
This system of policing
has got to go.
[narrator] As America grappled
with its lowest point
in recent memory,
a history-making partnership
between NASA and SpaceX
was underway.
a history-making partnership
between NASA and SpaceX
was underway.
American astronauts
were about to go to space
from US soil
for the first time
since the retirement
of the Space Shuttle in 2011,
nearly a decade earlier.
[announcer]
The final liftoff of Atlantis.
[woman]
Today with our partners
at SpaceX,
we usher
in the commercial crew era
of American space flight.
[narrator]
The stakes were high
as the mission
set the stage
for the exploration
of the Moon,
Mars, and beyond.
Today we have special guest,
retired astronaut,
Leland Melvin.
Today we have special guest,
retired astronaut,
Leland Melvin.
I am like so excited.
I've got rocket fuel
going through my veins.
I was there
to do the commentary
with some other folks
and it was just...
it was, it was electric
and everyone was like,
so excited.
And I'm thinking about
what happened to George Floyd.
[narrator]
It was just five days
after George Floyd's
May 25th m*rder that
NASA astronauts
prepared to take flight
on a privately-owned
spacecraft for the first time.
[reporter] NASA astronauts
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
[reporter] NASA astronauts
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
We're doing the most
technologically advanced thing
to send people off the planet,
but then we had George Floyd
being choked to death,
wanting his mother.
Today, as we gather
in this special place
to celebrate
our nation's bold
and triumphant
return to the stars,
I want to say a few words
about the situation
in Minnesota.
The death of George Floyd
on the streets of Minneapolis
was a grave tragedy.
It has filled Americans
all over the country
with horror, anger, and grief.
[protesters] We want justice!
-We want justice!
-We want justice!
[woman] Now they are getting
into the Tesla Model X.
[narrator] As the countdown
to launch began,
people across the nation
gathered to protest
the death of George Floyd.
the death of George Floyd.
[sirens wailing]
[horn honking]
[woman]
You can see the suit techs
are there to help them.
[officer] Stop the car!
[Donald] And I stand
before you in firm opposition
to anyone exploiting
this tragedy.
[announcer] Five, four...
...to loot, rob, attack
and menace.
We're go for launch.
Let's light this candle.
[announcer] Godspeed,
Bob and Doug!
[narrator]
As protesters squared off
with police across the nation,
social media lit up
with commentary
about the events.
[Ahmed]
1969 was when we hit the Moon.
Gil Scott-Heron had that song
Whitey's on the Moon.
[Gil] I can't pay
no doctor bills,
but whitey's is on the Moon.
but whitey's is on the Moon.
Which is talking about exactly
what we're talking
about today.
[Gil] Ten years from now,
I'll be paying still while
whitey's on the Moon.
[Ahmed] There is this
incredible urge and push
to get out into space.
But by the same token,
voting rights
are being rolled back.
Civil rights
are being rolled back.
Big issues in 1968.
In 2020,
they came back to haunt us.
If we don't deal with it now,
who knows what it's going
to look like in the future?
[man] You know,
I just about had my fill
of Whitey on the Moon.
[man] You know,
I just about had my fill
of Whitey on the Moon.
[narrator] The chaotic scenes
seemed all too familiar.
We are so painfully
not that different
today from where we were, uh,
in 1969 when Neil Armstrong,
Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins
blasted off
from Launch Complex 39A
at the Kennedy Space Center
to go to the Moon.
[crowd cheering]
[Jeffrey] Space, I think,
represents our most
ambitious aspirations,
[Jeffrey] Space, I think,
represents our most
ambitious aspirations,
but when people on the planet
are struggling
for basic fundamental rights,
the aspiration to get to space
suddenly starts
to look indulgent.
[newscaster]
Dr. Martin Luther King
has been shot to death
in Memphis, Tennessee.
[Curtis] Somehow or another,
this nation needs
the spilling of blood
in order for us
to mobilize people
to get out in the streets,
to do something about the,
to get out in the streets,
to do something about the,
um, conditions that
we are living under.
George called for his mama,
and his mother passed,
but he was calling
for his mother
'cause at the point that
he was dying,
his mother was stretching her
hands out, saying,
"Come on, George."
[applause]
[Curtis] I thought about
what was happening
during those protests
and harkened back
to the protests
that I was involved in.
Freedom and equality
are contagious ideas.
To some extent,
the inequality of women
within the civil rights
and other movements
led to the women's movement.
The Black Lives Matter
movements now
are carrying the banner
forward from the '60s.
It is just as important
as it ever was,
if not more so.
Democracy is like a tree.
It does not grow
from the top down.
It does not grow
from the top down.
It grows from the bottom up.
[narrator]
With social justice issues
hanging in the balance,
can America reconcile
its racial
and societal divisions?
Will dreams
of space exploration
and beyond be accessible
for only a select few,
or will they be
for all humankind?
[narrator] In 1959,
NASA selected
its first astronauts,
the Mercury Seven,
with the goal of beating
the Russians to space.
So when NASA first announced
the Mercury Seven astronauts
back in the late '50s,
it brought them out
before the press,
paraded them and the press
fawned all over them,
called them square-jawed men,
talked about their physiques.
And it was really this
branding of the astronauts
as these robust
physical specimens
that were also white and male.
that were also white and male.
So at the same time,
you had others that didn't
quite fit into that mold,
like Ed Dwight,
he was an African-American
jet fighter pilot.
[narrator] At the time,
NASA's culture
of favored white men
and its strict requirements,
including
test pilot experience,
made women ineligible.
But Captain Edward Dwight Jr,
a hotshot pilot, fit the bill.
John Kennedy really wanted
to have diversity
in the astronaut program,
and so he directed
the Air Force
and so he directed
the Air Force
to find somebody who...
who was qualified
that they could
put into the space program.
I was a novelty
because everywhere I went,
I was the only Black
in the Air Force.
I took to flying just like
a duck to water.
I managed to do well
to what I did.
And then I was flying
fighter airplanes
and I was working
on my masters
in nuclear engineering.
[chuckles]
Doing really, really well,
and I was on fast track
and it was just wonderful.
At the time,
you had to be a test pilot
before you become
an astronaut.
I sent my credentials in.
Four days later,
I got a letter back,
sending me to
Edwards Air Force Base
to go to the Experimental
Test Pilot School,
to go down there
and get interviewed
by Chuck Yeager.
Unfortunately, Ed was caught
into the politics
of everything.
The test pilot school
wasn't in on the deal.
The test pilot school
wasn't in on the deal.
They didn't have any control
of my coming in
and having Washington,
DC appoint somebody
that test pilot school
does not fit into that mold,
because they're Superman.
And so therefore,
if a Black guy can do it,
uh, then they're not Superman.
Ed Dwight
kind of ran into a buzz saw
in the form of some
of the hierarchy
at the Test Pilot School,
who just did not like
the idea of...
of a Black coming
from the Air Force
and going into NASA
in the space program.
[Ed] Prior to my coming there,
Chuck Yeager called
everybody in to say,
"You know that Washington
is trying to cram the *-word
down our throats
and we don't want him
to graduate."
So it was hell
in the very, very beginning.
And I had to fight that,
you know, the best I could.
I was very, very hopeful,
very, very confident.
I had been doing a good job.
I had been doing a good job.
And, you know,
I kept my nose clean
because I was anticipating
being selected.
[Deke] I'd like to introduce
the new group of 14 astronauts
that we've been
in the process of selecting
for about the last
four months.
[Reporter]
Was there a n*gro boy
in the last 30 or so
that you brought here,
for consideration?
No, there was not.
[photographer] Hey, gentlemen,
look over here, please.
[photographer] Hey, gentlemen,
look over here, please.
That's it.
[narrator]
In a stunning development,
NASA did not select Dwight.
[reporter speaking]
No, I would rather
not comment on that.
[narrator] It would take
nearly 20 years
before the organization
would select
an astronaut class
that did not consist
entirely of white men.
The people who decide
who has talent,
who are we going to let in,
who are we going to give
an opportunity.
People look for people
that are similar
to themselves.
That's what makes them
comfortable.
That's what makes them
comfortable.
Another example
of discrimination
was Mary Wallace Funk,
who goes by Wally.
And she was an incredibly
accomplished pilot,
taught other pilots.
She was actually
one of 13 women
who, in the early 1960s,
actually underwent
the same physical examinations
as the Mercury Seven.
And she was also excluded
from the Astronaut Corps
because at the time,
while NASA didn't specifically
exclude women,
to be an astronaut,
you needed 1,500 hours
of jet fighter training.
to be an astronaut,
you needed 1,500 hours
of jet fighter training.
And of course, women
were not allowed in combat,
so women were not allowed
to get that training.
So it was a sort
of backdoor way
that NASA could keep women
out of the Astronaut Corps.
NASA did miss
its opportunities early on
to send women
and African-Americans
into space.
Russia sent
the first woman into space,
Valentina Tereshkova.
They sent the first
nonwhite person into space,
a Black man from Cuba.
It took NASA a long time
to follow suit.
It took NASA a long time
to follow suit.
That is simply a stain
that NASA has to carry.
[narrator]
As the space race heated up,
NASA was not focused
on diversifying
the Astronaut Corps.
Its goal
was on the ultimate prize,
the Moon.
But why, some say, the Moon?
Why choose this as our goal?
[narrator]
In a 1962 speech in Texas,
President John F. Kennedy
set out America's
ambitious goals
to beat its Soviet rivals.
We choose to go to the Moon
in this decade
and do the other things,
not because they are easy,
but because they are hard.
[narrator]
American fervor for space
reached untold heights
in the 1960s,
with NASA's new directive
to get to the Moon
at any cost.
to get to the Moon
at any cost.
In 2020, that same excitement
was rekindled
as NASA and SpaceX ushered
in a new era in space travel.
...launching
American astronauts
on American rockets
from American soil.
[applause]
2020 really mirrors 1968
when you look at the balance
between NASA activities
and space activities
and a great deal of unrest
here on Earth
occurring simultaneously.
[Roland] In the late 1960s,
America was so much
more r*cist
and it was open.
It was visceral.
[narrator]
The civil rights movement
confronted the nation's
overt racism,
including segregated
facilities,
police violence,
and unrelenting
racial hostilities.
There was violence,
the use of fire hoses,
and dogs against
peaceful protesters.
There was the draft
for the Vietnam w*r,
There was the draft
for the Vietnam w*r,
and a disproportionate
number of Blacks
were being drafted.
The Chicago Democratic
Convention
was a great convergence
of social justice movements,
opposition to Vietnam.
I was at the Democratic
National Convention
in Chicago.
So when you mentioned
the '68 Convention,
you pull a scab off of me
because I have scars
that include my first whiff
of tear gas.
because I have scars
that include my first whiff
of tear gas.
[Harry] Unarmed against
the police, the demonstrators,
in a nonviolent tradition,
sat down.
I remember
Senator Gene McCarthy
and I and Senator
Ralph Yarborough
in about a fifth floor window
of the Conrad Hilton.
And the riot that was created
was not created by protesters,
it was created by the police.
[Harry] A l ater official
exhaustive investigation
would call this a police riot.
[Curtis]
After we closed the window,
the three of us
sat in the room and cried
because what was happening
to our nation was...
was just shocking.
[protesters shouting]
[narrator] These now iconic
and bloody images
were broadcast nationwide,
and traumatized a generation.
Fifty years later,
more sophisticated tools
took calls for social justice
to new heights.
took calls for social justice
to new heights.
Sunlight
is the best disinfectant.
In our civil rights era
of the '60s,
the disruptive technology
was the news cameras
right there on the street.
Today,
the disruptive technology
is the cell phone.
When people see the injustice,
now they can speak out
against it.
And I'm a true believer
that were it not for cameras
in the civil rights era,
things would have
turned out differently.
[narrator]
No other civil rights leader
captured the media's attention
like the charismatic
and beloved
captured the media's attention
like the charismatic
and beloved
Reverend
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
[Dr. King] I have a dream.
[crowd cheering]
You know,
if you asked me or any other
Black person of my age,
Martin Luther King was...
uh, he was "the leader".
He was this young
Black preacher.
He was bigger than life.
He was the person
that we were willing
to follow,
to try to get the rights
that we felt we deserve.
[Curtis]
None of us thought that
[Curtis]
None of us thought that
he would be taken away
from us.
That afternoon,
the telephone rang
and it was a rabbi friend
of mine.
He was in tears and he said,
"Turn the television on
because they just k*lled
Dr. King."
And I dropped the phone.
I was literally in shock.
I was crushed when Dr. King
was assassinated.
I have some very sad news
for all of you,
and that is that
Martin Luther King
and that is that
Martin Luther King
was shot and was k*lled
tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Everything broke out
with riots.
It was one of the saddest
memories that I've...
I've had.
Things seemed to be going
backwards again.
Seems like as always,
make progress and then
we go backwards.
Pretty bleak time
for you to believe
that this country was a place
that this country was a place
where we were going to
be able to subsist peacefully
alongside our white brothers
and sisters.
This is a difficult time
for the United States.
It's perhaps well to ask
what kind of a nation we are.
[Charles] Robert Kennedy
was a person to whom
we all looked
because he was the successor
we thought of...
of his brother,
President John Kennedy,
and then he was assassinated.
[man] Just please stay back,
just a doctor,
come right here.
[man] Just please stay back,
just a doctor,
come right here.
[Charles] At that time,
we lost two iconic figures
in the Black community.
It was just unspeakable.
And it was all on television.
We were all in mourning,
watching, not knowing
what to do.
[Carl] What do you do?
You're k*lling everyone.
Everyone.
All of our leaders.
What do we do?
[narrator] As the decade
reached its lowest point,
NASA prepared for its greatest
technological feat...
NASA prepared for its greatest
technological feat...
[man on radio]
You're go for landing. Over.
[narrator] ...causing
the nation's social
and economic disparities
to play out on an even
bigger scale.
[newscaster] Good evening.
That's Apollo 11 out there,
scheduled for a launch
to the Moon
at 9:32 a.m. tomorrow.
[dramatic music playing]
[Dr. King] I say to you,
if we can spend
billions of dollars
to put a man on the Moon,
we can spend
billions of dollars
to put God's children
on their own two feet
right here on Earth.
[crowd cheering]
Back in the '60s,
many of the grassroots
political movements
many of the grassroots
political movements
had a common adversary
in the space race
and in NASA in particular.
And they could say
that that money and effort
and even, you know,
cultural capital
could be much better spent
back here on Earth,
fighting for racial equality,
gender equality,
to stop the w*r in Vietnam,
for instance.
And I think
that's a little bit
what's happening today.
We have this incredible moment
where private space companies
are blasting off to orbit.
They're planning on going
to the Moon.
It's really pretty exciting.
It's really pretty exciting.
But at the same moment,
on the streets,
we have people
who are really upset
with what's going on back down
on Earth.
And this is exactly
what was happening
in the '60s.
[Curtis]
When Dr. King was tragically
taken away from us,
fortunately, he had a man
standing in the wings.
Ralph David Abernathy
took up the banner
of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference
to continue the work
that Dr. King had started.
So on the eve
of the Apollo 11 launch,
Ralph Abernathy arrives
at the Kennedy Space Center
with 25 poor
African-American families,
with 25 poor
African-American families,
four mules,
and two rickety wagons.
There's press there.
There's newscasters
and reporters.
We are here to protest
and we are here
to demonstrate.
We are here to say
that what we can do for space
and exploration, we must do,
and we demand that we do,
the very same
for starving poor people.
-Yes!
-Yeah!
-Yes!
-Yeah!
Abernathy had the power
of the press behind him.
They were attentive
to Abernathy's activities.
It compelled the NASA
administrator
to come and speak to him
in public on camera.
If it were possible for us
tomorrow morning
to not push the button
and to solve the problems
to which you are concerned,
believe me,
we would not push the button.
The response of the NASA
administrator, which I...
I have to compliment,
was, you know,
"If I could stop
this launch tomorrow
and correct every ill,
"If I could stop
this launch tomorrow
and correct every ill,
I would do that.
But I can't."
And it would do no good
and it would keep us
from advancing.
And I think
what I'm trying to say here
is it is not an either, or.
We have leadership
in this country today
that believes,
"I win, you lose."
That's not the world.
The world is very nuanced.
Unfortunately,
it falls upon us,
the oppressed group,
to educate the group that's
supposed to be damn smart.
to educate the group that's
supposed to be damn smart.
[Hakeem]
So if you want to say,
"Oh, look at the money
that they put here.
Could we have put it
somewhere else?"
Well, money doesn't work
like that, right?
Money isn't a zero-sum game.
I was in the federal
government
and I used to press
the button,
"Time to send $10 million."
Everything that happens
is a matter of will
and choice.
So if you want to give
a billion dollars
to some good cause,
the money is there.
You have to make it a priority
and you have to do it
by design.
and you have to do it
by design.
I pray that the astronauts
will have a safe flight
and a safe return
to this Earth.
[announcer]
Thirty seconds and counting.
We are still go
with Apollo 11.
The people
who came with Abernathy,
including Abernathy himself,
are really excited
and they go to the launch.
[announcer] 12, 11, 10, 9.
Ignition sequence start.
Six, five, four,
Six, five, four,
three, two, one, zero.
Lift off!
We have a liftoff!
[triumphant music playing]
[Curtis] Abernathy's
demonstration was eclipsed
by the significance of that
technological movement
at the time.
[astronaut speaking]
But on the other hand,
the nation needed
to think about the fact
that people
were starving to death.
And the nation still needs
to think about people
that are starving to death.
We still need to do something
in those places
where it looks like the 1800s,
where raw sewage
is still running
from the back of the house.
At the same time,
we're doing all of these
things technologically.
Would you believe
we're living with that today
Would you believe
we're living with that today
and nobody has done
anything about it?
When you think back
to the 1960s,
it was a very,
very challenging time.
And yet we had this
one moment in time
when we had
American astronauts
leaving the Earth eventually
to go step on another world
for the first time
in human history.
The world stopped
and they were looking
at this amazing human
achievement for...
for just these few moments
in time.
Now, if we fast forward
to today,
we've had challenges.
we've had challenges.
And yet when we launched
Demo-2,
again, every news station
broke in
and wanted to cover it
because again,
it was a human achievement,
just like the Apollo 11 moment
on July 20th, 1969.
[Neil Armstrong]
Tranquility base here.
The Eagle has landed.
[triumphant music playing]
[newscaster]
Wally says, "I'm speechless."
[Neil Armstrong]
That's one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind.
[Neil] I mean, in some ways,
it was very, very positive
for us as a nation.
But I think, in other ways,
it's both good and bad.
There were reports of people
in Harlem
who were watching
baseball games
at that time instead
of watching the Moon landing,
because they just didn't feel
included in that endeavor.
[narrator] As the 1960s
came to a close,
Americans lived
in different realities.
But inspiration to build
a better society,
both in space and on Earth,
was about to enter millions
of American homes
and come
from an unexpected source,
network television.
Captain,
I'm getting audio signal
from the Lexington.
Put it on.
[Hakeem] Many of us
who find ourselves
in technical careers
started off
as curious children
who are watching
science fiction programs
on television.
The thing about these
space science
fiction programs
is that they illustrate
our aspirations as a society.
And one element
of these programs quite often
is how inclusive they are.
[Victor]
I absolutely watch Star Trek.
[Victor]
I absolutely watch Star Trek.
The people on the TV screen
look like
people in my neighborhood,
like people that I saw
in real life.
That cast was so diverse.
When Star Trek
came on in 1966,
that was new territory.
During the height
of the civil rights movement,
they are portraying
our future space travelers.
That really, really
did a lot for many of us,
because maybe one day
this possibly could happen,
because maybe one day
this possibly could happen,
that maybe
we'll all be working together,
going to places
where few have gone before.
[Sonequa] We had
Nichelle Nichols playing
Lieutenant Uhura.
Being in this position
of authority,
being a genius herself,
uh, and seeing that,
that was the first time
we saw a Black woman
in that way.
Nichelle Nichols was the first
African-American woman
on television
that wasn't in a subservient
role.
She wasn't a sl*ve.
She wasn't a servant.
She wasn't a sl*ve.
She wasn't a servant.
There is a little, um,
similarity between
Star Trek and me.
So, Lieutenant Uhura
was the communications officer
and I was the communications
person on my mission.
So I had to do all
the comm configurations.
[Sonequa] She didn't want
to stay on Star Trek,
but famously,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
said, "No, you have to
because we need to see you."
And she stayed.
And not only that,
she dedicated
the rest of her life
and career to progression.
Hi.
I'm Nichelle Nichols,
but I still feel a little bit
like Lieutenant Uhura
on the Starship Enterprise.
You know, now
there's a 20th century
Enterprise, an actual
space vehicle built by NASA
and designed to put us
in the business of space.
Nichelle Nichols was appointed
to the board of directors,
uh, of the National
Space Institute in 1977.
She was responsible for this
recruitment campaign
She was responsible for this
recruitment campaign
because she said,
"Where are the women?
Where are the Black people
and other minorities
in this place?"
This is your NASA.
Minorities and women alike,
if you qualify and would like
to be an astronaut,
now is the time.
I have met Black scientists
that have chosen that
because of Star Trek.
She took that public platform
that she had,
and so she was responsible
for bringing in like
8,000 plus applicants,
8,000 plus applicants,
and it led to 35 new
astronauts being chosen.
That group was the first group
that included women
and minorities in NASA.
[narrator] Nichelle Nichols'
pioneering role
also paved the way
for a new Star Trek captain.
I play Captain Michael Burnham
on Star Trek: Discovery.
I stand on Nichelle Nichols'
shoulders.
She changed the world.
She changed the world.
I am in the captain's
chair now.
That's a pretty big deal.
So let's fly.
[laughs]
Hey!
[narrator]
After the example
set by Star Trek in the 1960s,
Star Wars picked up
the mantle in 1977,
depicting a future in space
that included both Black
and white leaders
and featured stars like
James Earl Jones
and Billy Dee Williams.
While it was a win
for representation,
While it was a win
for representation,
ardent fans criticized
many of its characters
as veiled racial stereotypes.
Star Wars had always
had this very, you know,
tumultuous experience
with race.
Everyone thought
that Chewbacca
was the "Black" character,
the one who was kind
of relegated
to the sidekick of Han Solo
and couldn't speak English
and all of these tropes.
And then Yoda was talked about
as the stereotypical
And then Yoda was talked about
as the stereotypical
Asian martial arts master.
[narrator] In 1999,
Star Wars: Episode I -
The Phantom Menace,
drew more criticism
for its character
Jar Jar Binks.
[man speaking]
I played a character called
Jar Jar Binks,
which was the first
CGI character in film history.
[George] The guy we got
has got a great walk
and everything,
and when you translate it
into Jar Jar, it was great.
[Ahmed] Being Jar Jar
was incredibly filling.
The backlash was unexpected.
The backlash was unexpected.
Me is a Jar Jar Binks.
[crowd laughing]
I will never let Jar Jar
live on this stage.
[narrator] Ahmed Best's
Jar Jar Binks was criticized
and ridiculed by both
white and Black audiences.
Hey, Jar Jar, keep away
from those energy binders.
[whimpers]
[narrator] The character
was meant to add comic relief,
speaking in what viewers
perceived
to be a stereotypical
Jamaican accent.
to be a stereotypical
Jamaican accent.
No, no, mesa stay.
Mesa culled Jar Jar Binks.
When you're doing
a movie like that,
you're in a bubble.
So all we saw
was the wonderful time
that we were having.
And so coming out
of that bubble
and seeing this reaction
was just a shock, which,
you know, I...
I sometimes feel a little bit
naive about.
[narrator]
Despite the criticism,
The Phantom Menace
was the highest grossing film
in 1999.
[George] Action!
[narrator]
Space fans still crave
a multidimensional universe,
[narrator]
Space fans still crave
a multidimensional universe,
pointing towards progress
and harmony.
[George] And squat down.
I do believe that George
is an incredibly
socially conscious person
and he is very invested
in civil rights.
And I think that
we're always going to have
these conversations
about anything that
is as popular as Star Wars.
[narrator]
As the diverse science fiction
universe portrayed
by Star Wars and Star Trek
in the late 1960s and '70s
by Star Wars and Star Trek
in the late 1960s and '70s
crept into the public
consciousness,
NASA faced further pressure
to turn science fiction
into reality.
[newscaster speaking]
[Carl]
Prior to the class of 1978,
they did not have women
or minorities
in the space program.
My brother, Ronald E. McNair,
applied to the space program.
I'm thinking,
"Now, if you're going
to be an astronaut,
I'm going to be the pope."
Okay.
I'm going to be the pope."
Okay.
You know, noontime news,
Walter Cronkite comes on.
I said, "Oh, man, my brother,
he's going to be
so disappointed."
And then they announced
the name Dr. Ronald McNair.
And from that point,
I heard nothing else.
It was almost impossible.
How was this that a guy
who came from segregated
South Carolina,
by far not your image
of the right stuff?
The class of '78
included an Asian man,
three Black men,
and six women.
[Charles] NASA knew
that they couldn't bring
women and minorities
and African-Americans
in and then not fly them.
So... so there was pressure
on the program
to get them flown.
[triumphant music playing]
In the class of '78,
you have the first two.
You have Sally Ride,
who was ultimately chosen
to be the first
American woman in space.
who was ultimately chosen
to be the first
American woman in space.
And you had Guy Bluford,
who was chosen as the first
Black American in space.
Nobody really
prepares astronauts
for this hero status
and especially
being the first.
[narrator]
Unlike their white male
predecessors,
the first diverse astronauts
faced public pressure
that was often r*cist
or sexist and a sign
that not everyone in America
was ready to accept
these new heroes.
that not everyone in America
was ready to accept
these new heroes.
Do you know
we have a woman astronaut now?
[man] Yeah.
Her name is Sally Ride.
And she asked NASA today
to delay her shuttle flight
because she couldn't find
a matching purse
to go with the space shoes.
[audience laughing]
I was very fortunate
because Sally flew on STS-7
and I flew on STS-8,
so I flew right behind Sally.
So I saw
all the media attention
and I recognized
that I was going to get
the same thing.
So I used Sally
as a way of learning
how to deal with the media.
So I used Sally
as a way of learning
how to deal with the media.
Sure, thank you
all for coming out.
There were crazy things
that were asked her,
about her make-up,
her hair, her dress.
Very stereotypical questions.
[Gloria] What do you suppose
are the dumbest
kinds of questions
you've been asked to date?
[Sally] Without a doubt,
I think the worst question
that I have gotten
was whether I cried
when we got malfunctions
in the simulator.
[interviewer] Do you weep?
Do you, uh...
what do you do?
Why doesn't anybody ask
Rick those questions?
[all laughing]
[narrator] Sally Ride's
history-making flight
capped off more than
20 years of struggle
by the civil rights
and women's movements
to gain access
and representation
in space exploration.
[man] The media attention
around the world
has been on Dr. Sally Ride,
who emphasizes that
she's a mission specialist
and a scientist
who just also happens
to be a woman.
[narrator] Years later,
Sally Ride also became known
[narrator] Years later,
Sally Ride also became known
as the first g*y astronaut
when it was revealed
in her obituary
that among her survivors
was her partner of 27 years,
Tam O'Shaughnessy.
A true American pioneer died
today of cancer.
Sally Ride.
This is what her biography
says, "In an instant,
little girls learned that
even the sky
wasn't the limit."
[newscaster]
Dr. Guion Bluford is now
in training for space flight.
I saw the same
sort of media attention,
I saw the same
sort of media attention,
not to the same degree
as Sally.
I was sort of in her wake,
to some extent.
Guy Bluford
was the trailblazer
for those of us of color.
[Guy] For me,
a big break was to graduate
from high school
and come to Penn State.
And we had this
college counselor
who waved me off.
I think the college counselor
provided doubt in my mind,
"You may not be able
to get into college."
"You may not be able
to get into college."
[Leland] We've seen
this that in college,
diverse students in STEM
will transfer out
because of an experience
they had in college
where someone said,
"Oh, you're not...
You can't do this."
That's the only way
you can become an astronaut
if you get into a STEM
degree field.
And so I think
there could be more
Guy Blufords
if everyone had the access,
the opportunity,
and belief that
they can be on this
same trajectory.
Guy Bluford
was a third-generation
college graduate
and for a Black man,
that is very significant.
and for a Black man,
that is very significant.
We don't think about that.
But for three generations,
from emancipation,
is a remarkable thing.
[narrator] Guy Bluford's
flight in 1983 was a triumph
for civil rights,
but also a harsh reminder
of just how long
that struggle took.
I was there 20 years before,
almost to the month
before Guion went up.
Now, Guion Bluford
is a brain guy.
We're friends.
He is one of the least
arrogant dudes.
I was just really
proud of the guy,
and I was hoping
that he'd come back here
with a wonderful story
to tell.
[Guy] When you look down
at the Earth,
you recognize that
this is a very small planet
and we all have
to live on it together
and we all have
to share together
and get along together,
so that we all prosper on it.
[narrator]
After Bluford's flight,
three more
African-American men
flew in the 1980s.
three more
African-American men
flew in the 1980s.
Ronald McNair,
Frederick Gregory,
and Charles Bolden.
The American public,
finally seeing Blacks
as mainstream
American heroes,
provided a beacon of hope
for the next generation.
My brother became a part
of the space program
before Charles Bolden.
[Charles] I was a test pilot
at the time.
Dr. Ron McNair
came to where I was assigned.
He said, "Hey, are you going
to apply for the program?"
I said, "Ron,
not on your life."
And he looked at me
incredulously.
And he looked at me
incredulously.
He said, "Why not?"
I said, "Ron,
they'd never pick me."
He said, "You know,
how do you know
if you don't ask?"
He was accepted
in the cohort of 1980.
[Charles]
When I got to Houston
in the summer of 1980,
I wasn't ready
for the reception
that we would get
in the broader
Houston community.
I remember I had to go
to a neighboring city
called Pasadena.
And so I remember driving.
And so I remember driving.
And as I'm crossing
the city limit,
there's this big billboard
with a guy
on a white horse
reared up in a...
and a hood.
And it said,
"Welcome to Pasadena,
home of the Ku Klux Klan."
I just kind of went,
"You got to be [bleep] me."
Excuse my French.
I said, "This is 1980.
Uh, I know I'm not going
to have to go through
this stuff again."
And sure enough,
that was our first
couple of years
in the astronaut office.
[narrator] The discrimination
that the first
[narrator] The discrimination
that the first
African-American
astronauts faced
was a harsh reminder
that the overt racism
of the 1960s was still alive.
But America would soon get
a sober reminder
that their new heroes
were not invincible...
[announcer]
T-minus 15 seconds.
[narrator]
...that every launch,
they put their lives
on the line...
That was a day
I'll never forget.
[narrator]
...for the betterment
of science
and for all humankind.
[intense music playing]
[announcer 1] Three, two, one,
and liftoff of the Space
Shuttle Discovery.
[announcer 2]
Liftoff of Atlantis.
[announcer 3]
Liftoff of Columbia.
[announcer 4]
Liftoff of Challenger.
[narrator] By 1986,
the space shuttle
had completed
two dozen missions,
and America
was used to seeing
a diverse group of astronauts
in space.
[newscaster speaking]
My brother was in Challenger
Space Shuttle STS-51.
[announcer]
Four, three, two, one,
and liftoff of the 25th
space shuttle mission.
[crowd screaming]
It exploded,
losing the entire crew.
That was the first time
I ever saw my father cry.
Might say I have never been
the same since.
We come together today
to mourn the loss of seven
brave Americans.
[narrator]
The Challenger expl*si*n
was especially tragic,
because it had on board
a crew that reflected America,
a civil rights era dream team.
The loss impacted the nation
and the next generation
of astronauts.
I think all of us
in the astronaut office
went through
some soul searching,
trying to decide
whether this is really
what we wanted to do.
And I tell people,
it took me a nanosecond
And I tell people,
it took me a nanosecond
to make up my mind that
this is where I belong.
I felt that
I had a duty to carry out
the legacy of Ron and his crew
and to be an example
for young Black kids
so that they would not
be like me and believe
they will never pick me.
I think,
if you talk to a lot of us
in the space program,
particularly the Blacks,
we all say, you know,
"If that person did it,
I can do it."
[narrator] The visibility
and representation
provided by the first Black
astronauts proved invaluable,
provided by the first Black
astronauts proved invaluable,
inspiring the next generations
of diverse Americans
to believe
they could achieve
the same dream.
I was in awe
of several astronauts,
especially
the African-American
astronauts,
which at the time there were,
you know, a handful of.
In 1987, Mae Jemison
was picked
for the Astronaut Corps,
and I was very inspired
by her.
[narrator] Dr. Mae Jemison
became the first Black woman
to travel to space.
[Hakeem]
When you look at the year
Mae Jemison went up,
in 1992, that was also
the year of the LA riots
from the, uh,
Rodney King event.
[newscaster]
Video showed LAPD officers
beating Rodney King
with their batons
for 15 minutes
after he led cops
on a high-speed chase.
[juror] We, the jury,
find the defendant
not guilty...
[juror] We, the jury,
find the defendant
not guilty...
[narrator]
The shocking acquittal
of the officers
who beat Rodney King
was a wake-up call to America,
signaling to many
that even though
the overt racism of the 1960s
seemed to be
in the rearview mirror,
systemic racism
was still deeply embedded
in our laws
and judicial system.
[newscaster]
The verdict set off
a firestorm
of uncontrolled riots
and violence.
[narrator] The debate about
racial disparities
and police use of force
spilled into the streets
in the most intense
period of social unrest
since the 1968 riots
after the death
since the 1968 riots
after the death
of the Reverend
Martin Luther King Jr.
Sometimes, when we send up
an African-American
into space,
there are issues in America
that are racial.
[narrator] Mae Jemison's
flight proved
that the American dream
could be possible for anyone,
regardless of race or gender.
But it was in sharp contrast
to the systemic racism
that still haunts
the nation today.
[Hakeem] When we had
Victor Glover go up recently,
this is the same year
we have the k*lling
of George Floyd
this is the same year
we have the k*lling
of George Floyd
and civil unrest around race.
We keep repeating
the same old thing.
For most Black people
who are not Victor Glover,
our feet were never more
firmly planted on the ground.
There was no escaping
the reality under
which we were living.
And so there's this contrast
between
what he's experiencing
and what every other
Black person is experiencing.
[Hakeem]
It's almost as if the universe
is telling us,
[Hakeem]
It's almost as if the universe
is telling us,
"Sure, sh**t for the stars,
but you guys better
get your act together,
because as we go out there..."
What did they say?
"There's no justice.
It's just us."
Right?
It's just us out there.
I think people get
along better in space
than they do on Earth.
[Charles]
When you train with people
and you understand that
your life depends on them,
man, you forget about color
and gender
and sexual persuasion
and all that stuff.
You're mission-focused.
You're mission-focused.
[Joan] If we can make it work
250 miles above the Earth,
we can certainly make it
work on terra firma.
[narrator] Joan Higginbotham
was selected
to be an astronaut in 1996,
and in 2006 became the third
African-American woman
to fly to space
after Mae Jemison
and Stephanie Wilson.
The Astronaut Corps
has become more inclusive.
I think they still have
a little ways to go,
I can tell you that.
When I flew in 2006
When I flew in 2006
and we were getting
our clothes for the flight,
the pants were like
men's size.
I'm like, "Really?
This is 2006,
and you're making me wear
a pair of pants built
for a man."
Hopefully, they'll start
to move at a more rapid pace
as the world moves
at a more rapid pace
for inclusivity.
[narrator] Two years
after Joan Higginbotham,
Leland Melvin was selected
to be an astronaut
and flew to space twice,
in 2008 and 2009.
in 2008 and 2009.
[Leland] I was the only
African-American
astronaut in my class.
What really kind of got me
unnerved
was when one of my classmates
was calling me "boy".
We were equals.
We were the same.
We were both
1998 astronaut class.
I've had too many people fight
during the civil rights
movement
to not be called boy
as a man.
[narrator] In 2009,
President Barack Obama
appointed Charles Bolden
[narrator] In 2009,
President Barack Obama
appointed Charles Bolden
to the position
of NASA Administrator,
making him the first
African-American
to hold the title.
From segregated South Carolina
to one of the most esteemed
positions in the world,
Charlie Bolden did that,
and it meant a lot
to many people.
[Charles] Among the things
that I was really passionate
about was getting NASA
at the upper level
to look more like America.
And everybody in the agency,
all 18,000 employees
and 40,000 contractors knew
all 18,000 employees
and 40,000 contractors knew
that the diversity champion
for the agency
was Charlie Bolden,
who was the administrator.
If you look at my class,
and that's the first time
that NASA has selected
a class of astronaut
candidates
that was half men,
and half women.
And so I think, you know,
looking from the Mercury Seven
to the 2013 class
of astronauts,
you can see the progression.
It's a reflection
of the time.
[narrator] Another reflection
of the times.
[protesters]
Black Lives Matter!
[narrator] In 2013,
the Black Lives Matter
movement
[narrator] In 2013,
the Black Lives Matter
movement
was formed to protest
the acquittal
of George Zimmerman,
who shot unarmed
Black teenager Trayvon Martin.
[man struggling]
[narrator] The movement grew
in 2014 after Eric Garner,
Michael Brown and others
were k*lled by police,
igniting huge
nationwide protests
that continued for years.
Most people's
first introduction to like
the systemic nature
of police violence,
I think that was 2014.
It was mine.
I knew the police
weren't great.
I knew the police
weren't great.
I didn't know they
were k*lling people all
across the country.
The work
of police violence is like
the day-to-day work I do.
So I had been able
to be a part of that process
day in and day out,
all around the country
and world.
Across the country,
people rallied over the deaths
of two Black men shot
and k*lled by police.
Activist DeRay Mckesson's
arrest was all caught
on camera...
[DeRay]
I'm under arrest, y'all.
[officer] Don't fight me.
Don't fight me.
[newsreader] ...when Mckesson
was picked up on a charge
of obstructing a highway.
[narrator] In different ways,
DeRay Mckesson
and Victor Glover
[narrator] In different ways,
DeRay Mckesson
and Victor Glover
each represent
a new generation,
one on Earth
and one in space,
working to build
a better future.
And there are others
who are also looking
to transform society
from a completely different
vantage point.
The space billionaires.
They arrived on the scene
with massive wealth and egos.
But will their bold visions go
beyond their exclusive worlds?
[man] Welcome back,
Bill Shepherd.
[narrator]
To become a bellwether
for inclusivity?
[narrator]
To become a bellwether
for inclusivity?
Or will they favor privilege
over projects and leave behind
untapped talent
who are ready for change?
[crowd applauding]
As the space shuttle nears
its scheduled retirement,
we will work
with a growing array
of private companies
competing to make
getting to space easier
and more affordable.
[crowd applauding]
I recognize that
some have said
it is unfeasible
or unwise to work
with the private sector
in this way.
I disagree.
[narrator]
The space billionaires
Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson,
[narrator]
The space billionaires
Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson,
and Elon Musk
are pioneering the transition
to privatizing space.
They created
some of the biggest
corporations in the world.
Amazon, Tesla,
PayPal, and Virgin.
Today, instead of nations
competing against each other,
like we saw
in the Cold w*r space race
between the United States
and the Soviet Union,
we're seeing companies
compete against each other,
driving down the cost,
increasing access to space,
making it more efficient
in a sort of a new space race.
making it more efficient
in a sort of a new space race.
[narrator] President Obama's
bet on the private industry
paid off.
These companies
have been responsible
for some of the greatest leaps
forward in space technology
in modern history.
We demonstrated
that it's possible.
We now know without any doubt
that you can build
a reusable rocket booster.
[narrator]
The space billionaires
proclaimed
that their technological
advancements
would lay the groundwork
for a future
in which millions of people
would be living
and working in space.
in which millions of people
would be living
and working in space.
[Richard] I assumed that
I would be an astronaut
one day.
So in 1991,
I went and registered the name
Virgin Galactic Airways.
[Jeff] We're going to build
a road to space.
Heavy industry
and all the polluting
industry,
all the things that are
damaging our planet,
those will be done off Earth.
The reason I started SpaceX
back in 2002
was really just to help us
get to Mars.
[Leland] Elon Musk,
he's got this vision.
Some of those innovations
that he's making now
Some of those innovations
that he's making now
could be a spinoff
to some other technology
that could be a game-changer
for all human beings
on this planet.
[narrator] SpaceX took
the lead on human spaceflight,
launching three NASA crews
to the International
Space Station
before Richard Branson
or Jeff Bezos
got off the ground.
[Curtis] With Elon Musk,
he's delivered people
to the Space Station
and he's delivering spacecraft
that are going to have some
lasting value.
But with the other two,
But with the other two,
I think that it's primarily
a vanity program.
[narrator] Richard Branson
became the second space
billionaire to get humans
to space,
when he launched himself
and three of his employees
aboard his Virgin Galactic
space plane.
People are just incredibly
anxious about
what's going on here on Earth,
and yet you have these
billionaire spacemen
blasting off to space.
Ladies and gentlemen,
this here
is Sir Richard Branson,
astronaut.
this here
is Sir Richard Branson,
astronaut.
[crowd cheering]
[Curtis] Now you can say
that you went into space,
but saying that
you're an astronaut,
I don't know.
That to me is a...
um, a horse
of a different color.
[narrator]
When Bezos and his crew
finally launched to space,
he gave
one seat to Wally Funk,
who was a member
of the Mercury 13
Band of Women,
who were denied access
to space in the 1960s.
who were denied access
to space in the 1960s.
Only one
of the Mercury 13 women
to actually get into space.
Good payback.
Wally Funk finally
getting her dream.
Every launch,
they put somebody on board
that made us all tune in.
I'm going up into space.
I don't know how many people
can say that.
[Michael]
I just want to see the Earth
from that perspective
and understand
how small of a part
we are of something so large.
Michael Strahan seems like
a great guy,
Michael Strahan seems like
a great guy,
but I think he was used
just like the rest of them
to get publicity
for the vanity space program.
[Leland]
When you bring up celebrities,
the cameras come,
there's more exposure
and there is more
little Black kids
who may say,
"Hey, Michael Strahan went up.
I can do that
because I see someone
who looks like me
and they're up there
and they're doing it."
[narrator]
Having the gatekeepers
of space be billionaires
of space be billionaires
and them being able to choose
who gets to go in a rocket
and who gets to go up,
they are creating right now
what could be called
a space class.
And the...
the difficult thing behind
the space class
is it's behind a paywall.
And the paywall
is astronomical.
[Christian] Virgin Galactic
announced their new price
of $450,000 after Blue Origin
had auctioned off a seat
on that first flight,
and it went for $28 million.
and it went for $28 million.
And we're seeing some
extremely wealthy people
who are willing to pay
a lot of money
to get to space.
[crowd cheering]
[narrator]
On September 15, 2021,
SpaceX launched Inspiration4,
a mission privately
funded by billionaire
Jared Isaacman.
It marked the first time
that private citizens
orbited all the way
around the Earth.
And copy that, SpaceX.
[Ahmed]
The danger lies in the fact
that whenever you
privatize anything,
the focus of that
private company
the focus of that
private company
and that private corporation
is capital.
'Cause I can't see
what the end process
is except making money.
And think of what that money
could do on Earth.
I don't see it that way.
What I see is the creation
of a new infrastructure.
What they have done
is they've reduced the cost
of access to space.
So if we compare that to,
say, the invention of cars
and the invention
of airplanes,
even though today
the average person
has an automobile
and the average person
can buy a plane ticket,
it didn't start out that way.
can buy a plane ticket,
it didn't start out that way.
So we're at the very
beginning of this,
but yet we already see
that they are aware
that eyes are on them.
We have to be able
to have some kind of a say
in what they do.
I want to thank
every Amazon employee
and every Amazon customer
'cause you guys paid
for all of this.
[narrator] The median salary
of an Amazon worker
in 2020 was $29,000,
while Bezos had an estimated
$200 billion fortune.
while Bezos had an estimated
$200 billion fortune.
[Curtis] Why wouldn't you
take some of that money
and raise the wages
and the conditions
of the people
that you have working for you?
There is that saying,
"No publicity
is bad publicity."
Well, listen, Blue Origin's
really took that to the limit
because they... Look,
Jeff Bezos was getting made
so much fun of by the way
he looked,
by the way his spacecraft
looked.
The SNL sketch was
was hilarious.
They were making fun of,
you know, Jeff Bezos,
They were making fun of,
you know, Jeff Bezos,
and Elon Musk,
and Richard Branson.
[man] Just sort of fly
around space, goofing off,
in a ship that
looks like a p*nis.
I mean, it is funny.
So, look, they're the space
billionaires.
They're going to get it.
Anytime people have that
amount of money
and you use it
to go into space,
you're going to get it.
The public is able to rejoin
that civic conversation
in a way through social media
to push back.
As these companies mature,
I think you'll see
a lot more equity, diversity,
and inclusion.
I think you'll see
a lot more equity, diversity,
and inclusion.
[narrator]
As the space billionaires
were reaching
for new heights...
[tense music playing]
[narrator]
...back down on Earth,
American Society was grappling
with one of its lowest points
in modern history.
[protester] What do you want?
[protesters] Justice!
[intense music playing]
[protesters screaming]
[reporter]
Live from the Kennedy
Space Center
at Cape Canaveral, Florida,
a new era in space exploration
is underway.
[narrator] On May 30th, 2020,
Elon Musk and his grand vision
called SpaceX,
prepared to make history
as the first private company
to launch humans into space.
[officer] Put your [bleep]
hands up right now.
[narrator] But the event
was overshadowed
when five days earlier,
George Floyd, a Black man,
was k*lled by a white
Minneapolis police officer.
was k*lled by a white
Minneapolis police officer.
[George breathes heavily]
[officer] What do you want?
[George] I can't breathe.
[woman 1] How long
y'all gotta hold him down?
[narrator]
The gut-wrenching encounter
was filmed
by a crowd of bystanders
and went viral.
[man] He's not even
resisting arrest
right now, bro.
-[woman 1]
His nose is bleeding.
-[woman 2] Yeah, stop.
[man] You're stopping
his breathing right now, bro.
You think that's cool?
The video of George Floyd
comes out.
I was recovering from COVID,
but I remember like
I watched it on my phone.
I, like, watch most things
on my phone
I, like, watch most things
on my phone
and I watched it
on my phone and it was like,
"Ooh, this is bad."
I was at home when I saw
the George Floyd recording.
I was just sick.
I didn't see all of it.
I saw the beginning
and then I had to stop.
Uh...
It was, uh...
it was awful.
It's very painful.
Um, it was equal parts
shocking and not surprising.
Um, it was equal parts
shocking and not surprising.
You know,
being Black in this country,
especially being
a Black man in this country,
I've experienced, especially
with law enforcement
since I was, you know,
11, 12 years old, you know?
[Leland]
I'll never forget this.
Driving and there
was a police officer there
and he stopped me.
And I say,
"I don't have any drugs, g*ns.
I'm a law-abiding citizen.
Please don't sh**t me."
You know, I went to space.
We've lost people
before in space.
I was afraid of this.
Not that.
[sobbing]
I'm sorry.
[Don]
Everyone I saw on that video
had some empathy,
saw the humanity,
except for the...
the police officers
who were there.
Because they've been
getting away with it,
with it for decade,
after decade, after decade.
with it for decade,
after decade, after decade.
[narrator]
A week after Floyd's death,
astronaut Victor Glover
was in the final months
of his training
to become the first Black man
to fly a long duration mission
to the International
Space Station.
He posted a tweet
after George Floyd's m*rder.
[Victor] My heart is low,
my head is level,
but my faith is high.
And I think it's okay
to acknowledge that sometimes.
And I'm getting ready to ride
a rocket into low-Earth orbit.
And boy, I have a lot
to look forward to.
And so I wanted to help
encourage others
that that may not be able
to say that.
that that may not be able
to say that.
[Jeffrey] The public expects
astronauts to speak out
and to make their voices heard
on critical issues of the day.
I am heartbroken.
I am looking
at the juxtaposition
of doing the most
technologically
advanced things,
sending people to space,
but a man dies
in police custody.
America,
let's get our crap together.
This is,
this is unsatisfactory.
We got to stop this.
With the m*rder
of George Floyd,
With the m*rder
of George Floyd,
what we saw was a recognition
that all of the things
that Black people
had been saying,
that all of the things
we've been chanting,
as Black Lives Matter
for eight years, were true.
[narrator] In 2020,
several other
high-profile killings
occurred in the months before
the death of George Floyd.
Louisville police shot
and k*lled Breonna Taylor.
[news anchor]
Taylor was k*lled by police
serving a so-called
no-knock warrant.
A major new development
tonight in the investigation
A major new development
tonight in the investigation
into the k*lling
of Ahmaud Arbery,
who was chased down
and shot to death
while he was jogging
in a Georgia neighborhood.
There was little progress
in the investigation
until video of his k*lling
was released publicly.
[Don] I remember
the time that I aired
the Ahmaud Arbery video,
and I actually showed
him being shot by...
by the shotgun,
in the abdomen.
And it was...
I couldn't believe
that that was happening.
[g*nsh*t]
As I'm driving to NASA,
I get to Georgia
and I see this sign,
Brunswick,
and I'm like, "Wait a minute."
One of those moments
where the hairs on the back
of your neck stand up.
That could have been me.
I...
I jog through neighborhoods
that are white.
Because he's jogging,
he's not bothering anyone
on his daily run,
so I never worried about him
jogging, ever.
And then all of a sudden,
George Floyd happened
And then all of a sudden,
George Floyd happened
and that overshadowed
Ahmaud Arbery.
And then I felt guilty
because I'm not covering
Ahmaud Arbery enough,
but I have to cover
George Floyd.
And then Minneapolis,
um, you know,
with the k*lling
of George Floyd,
it was the perfect storm
of like the pandemic.
People have been inside
and want to come
outside anyway.
And like, this is a moment
to do it right.
[reporter] For so many people
to show up
in support of George Floyd,
I think speaks volumes.
[DeRay]
The protesters in Minneapolis.
I think it was actually
their actions that
galvanized people.
I think it was actually
their actions that
galvanized people.
It was the people
on the street that I think
spread across the country.
[reporter] Demonstrations
in dozens of cities,
tens of thousands of people
packing streets and parks.
[Joan] It wasn't just
the African-American
community.
It was everybody.
And it's going to take
everybody to stop it.
[news anchor] Demonstrations
are taking place
around the world
to show solidarity
for the protests in the US.
...to show all of them
in America
that we stand with them.
[crowd applauding]
[crowd applauding]
When I saw a report about
a group in Germany
that was chanting the name
George Floyd,
that really sat with me,
that... that really made me
stop and think,
"Something is different."
[protesters]
Black Lives Matter!
Because of a video,
because of this,
because of this,
there are no excuses.
White America
is now actually seeing
what we have been
talking about.
There are no protests
without a broad section
There are no protests
without a broad section
of the community
understanding
that there's a problem,
and being able
to tell that story
to as many people
as possible,
it was impossible to tell
that story without Twitter.
Twitter was the mechanism
by which the word
traveled faster than
anything else
we could have done.
[Joan] Why do we go to space
and why do we spend
all this money on space
when we have
so much down here
and we can be spending
this money on something else?
And then you have to think
about all the things
And then you have to think
about all the things
that we have garnered
from space
that have been translated
to us on Earth.
The camera
in your cell phone came
because we use
the technology up there
and we basically
shrink it down
so you could have it
in your phone.
How incredible is that?
And that today
makes everybody a recorder
and they can record,
unfortunately,
things like George Floyd.
But NASA technology plays
a huge part in everything
we do today.
But NASA technology plays
a huge part in everything
we do today.
[indistinct chatter]
Freedom of speech.
All the things
that we've learned from space
is really beneficial
and it spreads out
in our society
in lots of different ways.
Now, because of cameras,
they can't say,
"Well, we hear this stuff,
but I'm not quite sure."
For decades, we heard that.
They saw George Floyd.
We saw the tape
with Rodney King.
We saw the tape
with Rodney King.
One of the defining things
about Rodney King and,
uh, the k*lling
of George Floyd is that
both of them
were citizen video.
So Rodney King, it's a guy
who just has a camera,
who is in the neighborhood
and sees this thing
and is like, "This is wild."
First of all,
I was thinking about him.
You know, "What could
he have done to deserve that?"
With George Floyd,
who was Darnella Frazier
who had a cell phone.
[Darnella]
I got this all on camera.
Watch out.
And that changed everything.
[Darnella speaking]
[Gloria]
My overwhelming feeling
was gratitude
to that young girl
who had the camera,
who kept the camera on him.
I mean, she was a witness.
And as Martin Luther King
said,
that it's sacred
to have a witness.
[protesters] I can't breathe!
[narrator] Bolstered
by undeniable video evidence,
the fury over the death
of George Floyd
was about to reach a boiling.
President Trump today
issued new warnings
for authorities
to crack down on protesters.
I am your president
of law and order.
As far as this problem
of law and order is concerned,
I am for law and order.
[narrator] In 1968,
Richard Nixon
won the presidency
on a law-and-order platform.
[Richard Nixon] It is time
for an honest look
at the problem of order
in the United States.
[narrator] Nixon projected
a calm and stable image
to white voters,
especially during
the racially charged 1960s.
to white voters,
especially during
the racially charged 1960s.
In 2020,
President Donald Trump
invoked similar language.
My administration will stop...
mob violence
and we'll stop it cold.
[narrator]
The cycle of unresolved
problems
present since the civil rights
era continues.
[Donald Trump]
Radical left criminals, th*gs,
and others will not be allowed
to set communities ablaze.
[reporter] We're seeing
a disturbing police response.
[reporter] We're seeing
a disturbing police response.
Textbook evidence
of excessive force.
Policing is a fundamentally
corrupt, unjust, brutal,
and murderous system,
and we have to transform
the way
we do public safety
in this country.
[reporter] A producer got hit
by some sort of projectile.
We're going to get
to a safe spot here, Don.
I remember reporting,
the reporter was like,
"Don, we gotta go.
Cops are coming in
and they're forcing
people out of the way."
...don't sh**t!
It is essential
that we protect
the rule of law...
It is essential
that we protect
the rule of law...
[sirens blaring]
...and our independent
system of justice.
[news anchor] The president
posted the tweet,
"When the looting starts,
the sh**ting starts."
[man] ...don't sh**t!
[narrator] As racial tensions
in America raged on,
Victor Glover
looked to the stars.
He was about to become
the first Black man
to live aboard
the International Space
Station
and also the first
African-American
in a new era of private space.
in a new era of private space.
[crowd cheering]
[Victor]
Being the first
African-American assigned
to a long duration mission
on the Space Station,
I do feel a sense of pressure,
uh, and that's just to go
up there and to do my best.
[crowd applauding]
[Shannon]
I do think it's important
that we have such
a diverse crew.
The crew wasn't selected
with that in mind,
the crew was selected
for the skills
and capabilities.
But it is important
and we have sort of
an unofficial
phrase associated
with our flight,
phrase associated
with our flight,
"All for Crew-1
and Crew-1 for all."
Japanese government
has a nice joint program
with NASA.
As an astronaut,
regardless of the agency,
we help each other.
All for one, one for all,
Crew-1.
[Michael] The crew
had the opportunity
to name the capsule.
Resilience just
just fit, it fits the time.
Clearly, this has been
a difficult year.
Clearly, this has been
a difficult year.
And at the same time,
I think everybody has shown
an amazing resilience through
these difficult times.
[Victor] Being a rookie,
my concerns
are what normal concerns
you would have
if you were going to go
sit on top of an almost
two-million-pound b*mb...
[dramatic music playing]
...and launch
up to 400 kilometers
above the ground
and then stay
there for half a year
and then do it in reverse.
And so, yes,
it is inherently a risky job.
[man on radio]
SpaceX, go for launch.
[astronaut] SpaceX,
this is Resilience, roger go.
[announcer] Nine, eight...
You know, folks like
Ed Dwight, Charlie Bolden,
Mae Jemison, and Guy Bluford,
and Joan E. Higginbotham,
they climbed mountains
that I will never
have to climb.
And I'm getting to start
this journey from a place
that I owe them.
[announcer] One, zero.
Ignition.
Liftoff.
[triumphant music playing]
[announcer]
And Resilience rises.
[announcer]
And Resilience rises.
Not even gravity
contains humanity
when we explore
as one for all.
[Victor] The rocket launch,
getting into orbit,
seeing the planet
from orbit the first time,
coming into the expanse
of the International
Space Station.
[woman] You are go
for approach two and docking.
[Victor] It has just been
an amazing journey.
I think it's amazing
that Victor Glover
has gone into space
and that he should obviously
have more recognition
and that he should obviously
have more recognition
than he has, especially
when you consider
it's only been 17,
or so Black astronauts.
[protesters] USA!
USA!
USA!
[Don] But I think
it was overshadowed.
[narrator] Victor Glover
was less than two months
into his six-month mission
to the International
Space Station,
when a right wing rally
protesting the outcome
of the 2020 election...
[indistinct]
[narrator] ...erupted
into the Capitol insurrection,
bringing with it parallels
to the 1960s.
bringing with it parallels
to the 1960s.
Advancements in space travel
were once again
not translating
into advancements
in our society.
[reporter]
We're seeing protesters
overcome the police.
What really shocked me
and just took my breath away
was the desecration,
people walking around
with Confederate flags.
That was awful.
[reporter] Trump supporters
walked into the US Capitol
and police officers
stood and watched.
[newscaster] Many people,
including Joe Biden,
[newscaster] Many people,
including Joe Biden,
have said if this had been
a Black Lives Matter protest
instead of mostly
white Trump supporters,
the police response
would have been
dramatically different.
[Sonequa] This time,
it's so charged,
it's like a stew.
There's so much strife
and division,
then there's also so much
opportunity and advancement.
And it's like
we're standing at this great
precipice of change.
[Hakeem] Being an American
space fairer in 2020
had to be a total mind-trip,
because the country
is changing so fast.
because the country
is changing so fast.
There was such
an air of instability.
You don't even know
if you're going to return
to the same country you left.
Things could change
drastically while
you're up there.
While Victor was in space,
I did have a chance
to talk to him.
His crew, they knew
that this was going to be
a pivotal moment
while they were in space.
[Victor] I'm not immune
from what's going on
in the world
in terms of the racial justice
and civil rights push,
as well as the pandemic,
the physical
and economic insecurity
the physical
and economic insecurity
that people are feeling
everywhere.
I really hope going
to space can unify all people,
especially right now.
I believe that aerospace
and space flight
have this amazing,
captivating capability
to get people to see
what humans are capable
of when we work together
with or in spite
of our differences.
And I hope we give them
something to literally
and figuratively look up to.
When there is unrest on Earth,
there is something to be said
for the value
of leaving Earth,
for the overview effect,
which is what astronauts
frequently talk about
when they look down
on the planet,
all of the debates
and the pettiness
and the violence of Earth
seems to shrink
to insignificance then.
[Victor] Looking down
at the world without borders
and understanding that humans
are all connected,
and understanding that humans
are all connected,
it just makes me experience
that connection even more.
[Hakeem]
The thing that's really
just blows me away
about America
is that we're so rich,
we're so luxurious.
We have everything
going for us.
We're making great leaps
and advances,
especially in access to space.
Why are we awash in violence?
It needs to be changed.
[narrator]
With battle lines drawn,
can a nation heal?
[woman screaming]
[woman screaming]
[protesters] George Floyd!
George Floyd!
Initially,
the city of Minneapolis
released statements saying
that George Floyd died
of medical complications,
until it was exposed.
What happened?
The city of Minneapolis
was prepared to lie.
Did lie.
The entire system is really
responsible for the m*rder
of George Floyd.
Members of the jury,
I understand
you have a verdict.
Members of the jury,
I understand
you have a verdict.
[juror] We, the jury,
in the above entitled matter
as to count one,
unintentional
second-degree m*rder
while committing a felony,
find the defendant guilty.
[narrator] The conviction
of police officer
Derek Chauvin
in the k*lling of George Floyd
was a small victory
in a much larger fight
for social justice
and accountability.
After two weeks,
a verdict has been reached
in the trial of the three men
accused of chasing,
sh**ting,
and k*lling Ahmaud Arbery.
We, the jury,
find the defendant,
Travis McMichael, guilty.
We, the jury,
find the defendant,
William R Bryan, guilty.
We, the jury,
find the defendant,
William R Bryan, guilty.
We, the jury,
find the defendant,
Greg McMichael, guilty.
[DeRay] You know
what's so interesting
is for all of the conversation
that changed.
The police k*lled
more people in 2020
than every single year
we have on date except
for 2018.
That is wild.
And a reminder
that narrative change
does not mean
structural change.
We have made
some steps forward,
but also some
giant steps backwards.
but also some
giant steps backwards.
Legislatures
across the country
are trying to move
in a direction
of purifying the vote
so that it's all white.
The protest
in the streets now,
I think they're going to have
to escalate for us
to pass the John Lewis law
and the other laws
that will help to preserve
our democracy.
[narrator] The John Lewis
Voting Rights Advancement Act
seeks to restore protections
against voter discrimination,
targeting people of color.
And there have been successes,
including police reforms
and an anti-lynching bill
including police reforms
and an anti-lynching bill
that makes
the crime punishable
by up to 30 years in prison.
There were 19 states
that passed more
restrictive use
of force policies.
There were six states now
who have restricted
the execution
of no-knock raids.
We have seen things
happen at a structural level
in a way
that's really powerful.
[protesters] We want justice!
So space is a nice to have,
and that's like a nice
to have 12 million miles away
from the more immediate
nice to haves, right?
I'm focused on the must haves,
and our work is to make
equitable structures.
It is to make a structure
that doesn't rely
on a billionaire
to make a decision
that doesn't rely
on the police
to be good people today.
[Roland] There have been
so many criticisms of NASA
and space
and this whole idea
that it's a waste of money.
That actually, to me,
hurts the next generation.
America can gain
something significant
America can gain
something significant
if we recapture this love
of space exploration.
[Elon] We want to have things
that make us look forward
to the future,
that, you know,
make us excited to get
out of bed in the morning,
you know, that are inspiring.
We have so many problems
that need to be solved.
But at the same time,
exploration lends
technological advances
for humankind.
We've got to strive
for great things in the future
We've got to strive
for great things in the future
and look forward
to exciting developments,
and, you know, space
is one of those things.
[Jeffrey] Where NASA will have
its biggest influence
will continue to be in deep
space exploration,
the Moon and Mars.
[narrator]
As the private sector
continues to make
technological leaps,
NASA's focus has shifted
to a new mission,
to get the next generation
of astronauts to the Moon,
Mars, and beyond, starting
with the Artemis program.
Mars, and beyond, starting
with the Artemis program.
[Pam] The Artemis program
is our program
to send the first woman
and the first person of color
to set foot on the Moon,
since the Apollo program.
My space bucket list
consists of one thing,
to work on the surface
of the Moon.
That... that's a dream.
For all humankind
is exactly what space is,
just like Earth
is for all humankind.
just like Earth
is for all humankind.
But we sliced it up in little
ownership parcels, right?
We can't do that with space.
[DeRay] I'm hopeful
that topics like
who deserves to be in space,
that more and more people
who would never thought
that they could even have
a comment on those things can,
right?
That people understand
that all of this stuff
is the decisions of people
and that because people
made it,
people can make it
differently.
And we say unapologetically
that Black Lives Matter.
[protesters]
Black Lives Matter!
We are powerful,
We are powerful,
we are useful,
we are invaluable,
and we can do
anything together.
That feeling,
that belief, that spirit,
I was so grateful to see that
rising back up,
like in the '60s.
Now, thanks to the spirit
of equality in the air,
I no longer accept
that my group is second class.
[Gloria] Many people may feel
that a movement
is a big cohesive thing
that excludes them.
Not true.
As the great Florynce Kennedy
used to say,
As the great Florynce Kennedy
used to say,
a movement is anybody
who's off their a*s.
Right?
Three hundred
and seventy marches
and on six continents.
I hope we can make movements
part of our lives
and part of knowing that
because we were alive,
the world is a little bit
better than
it would have been.
I always want kids
to look at me,
especially kids of color,
and say,
"Hey, if she did it,
I can do it."
"Hey, if she did it,
I can do it."
That's hope.
To have a young kid
see a rocket ship
leave the planet
and know that there's somebody
on that rocket ship
that looks like them.
I personally would like to see
more Victor Glovers.
Now there's more
of a pipeline.
We've got STEM education
for diverse people,
but we have to keep our foot
on the gas of making sure
that all kids have access
to this pipeline to help
get more Victor Glovers.
to this pipeline to help
get more Victor Glovers.
Now my hope
for the space program
in the far future is that
we continue to make things
better for all humankind,
all humankind.
[man] We welcome you back
to planet Earth
and thanks for flying SpaceX.
[Victor] I hope we have
a sustainable presence
on the Moon.
I hope we get to Mars.
I hope we continue
to push the bounds
and live out that vision.
I love NASA's vision.
To reach for new heights
and reveal the unknown
for the benefit of humankind.
I hope that we continue
to do that in a way
I hope that we continue
to do that in a way
that resonates
with all of humanity.
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For All Humankind (2023)
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