The Space Race, Tuesday, December 5, 2023 6:30PM

Item details

Date

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 6:30PM

Name

The Space Race

Description

Join the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and The Community Foundation for a greater Richmond for Created Equal, a series of free programs in honor of Grady W. Powell that use the power of documentary film screenings to encourage community discussion focused around themes of civil rights, human rights, and social justice in American history.

The Space Race, from National Geographic Documentary Films, weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden, among many others. In The Space Race, directors Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés profile the pioneering Black pilots, scientists and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight’s quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station, the story of African Americans at NASA is a tale of world events colliding with the aspirations of uncommon men. The bright dreams of Afrofuturism become reality in The Space Race, turning science fiction into science fact and forever redefining what “the right stuff” looks like, giving us new heroes to celebrate and a fresh history to explore.

Showtime is at 6:30 p.m., and the screening will be followed by a moderated Q&A with Leland Melvin, Virginia astronaut and the film's Executive Producer. Tickets are free, but registration is required. 

This program is made possible through the partnership and generosity of National Geographic Documentary Films.