Denver astronaut considered for the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress

Denver astronaut considered for the highest civilian grant bestowed by Congress

Denver astronaut considered for the highest civilian grant bestowed by Congress 04:30

A measure by Colorado's Rep. Joe Neguse and Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper would grant Ed Dwight the Congressional Gold Medal.

Ed Dwight

Dwight is the archetypal Black astronaut campaigner and oldest antheral to spell into space. The 91-year-old has besides owned several palmy businesses during his bonzer beingness and is simply a nationally renowned sculptor.

He says, successful galore ways, his destiny was written by his mom.

"She had this happening bushed into my encephalon that anybody who had the vantage either educationally oregon financially owed it to the remainder of the community," helium said.

That rule has guided him passim his life. He says erstwhile President John F. Kennedy asked him to articulation the astronaut grooming programme successful 1961, helium didn't privation it. His ma said it wasn't astir what helium wanted.

"She said 'You amended get retired and bash this. We request this arsenic an inspiration for the Black community,'" helium said.

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But Dwight says advancement turned to prejudice and racism aft Kennedy was assassinated, causing him to resign. Forced to reinvent himself, helium took a occupation astatine IBM successful Colorado, wherever helium says helium was tapped to beryllium the company's archetypal Black vice president.

"I said been done that archetypal Black happening erstwhile and it didn't enactment retired truthful well," helium said.

He became his ain brag instead, moving an aviation consulting business, restaurants, and a existent property and operation company.

"We had Learjets flying each implicit the country," helium said.

In his escaped time, helium started sculpting.

"At the extremity of the day, I'd get successful my Mercedes and thrust to (construction) sites and prime up each the metallic that was laying aroud and I started making art," Dwight said.

His artwork caught the oculus of Colorado's archetypal Black lieutenant governor, George Brown, who asked Dwight to bash a sculpture for the authorities capitol.

CBS Colorado's Shaun Boyd interviews Ed Dwight. CBS

"He told maine 'You beryllium the satellite something,'" said Dwight. "We've got to dispersed the word. We've got to person creation successful astir each metropolis to punctual some the Black and the White communities that Black folks did thing successful this country."

Once again, Dwight was called to enactment the greater bully first.

"So, I got escaped of each my companies and ended up wherever I americium today," helium said.

He is an acclaimed creator who has created astir 20,000 assemblage pieces and much than 130 memorials dedicated to Black history.

"I'm a beauteous blessed guy," helium says.

But his beingness wasn't rather implicit until past year, erstwhile helium was offered a spot connected Blue Origin.

"I said that I didn't attraction whether I went up oregon not. I lied," helium said.

It was a infinitesimal helium had trained for but, helium wasn't prepared for what helium saw.

"Look astatine that beauteous small spot down there, however organized it is, however good ordered it is," helium said, referring to the Earth from space.

Ed Dwight -- a antheral acutely alert of however disfigured the satellite tin beryllium -- saw beauty. He isn't the archetypal Black astronaut but, helium is the oldest to spell into space.

Dwight is being considered for a Congressional Gold Medal for his achievements successful aviation and art.

He isn't holding his breath.

"What we're faced with is forcing radical to retrieve things," helium said.

Things that were meant to interruption Ed Dwight. But helium roseate supra it all, and lifted others with him.

He's been called a abstraction pioneer surviving legend, and trailblazer but, helium has a antithetic thought for his legacy.

"I'm conscionable a feline who wants to marque this a amended world, amended for everybody -- Black folks, White folks, everybody."

The Fellowship Community of Vikki Buckley is holding a solemnisation of Ed Dwight Saturday, Aug. 16, from 2-4 p.m. astatine the Assistant League of Denver Event Center. It is unfastened to the public.