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Glover’s achievement is another bright spot in one of our nation’s most trying years. Let’s celebrate!
Reading Time 4 min 6 sec
By Nehemiah D. Frank, Founder and Editor in Chief
“We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams” is a common saying in the African American community; it’s the magic phrase often uttered when we seek to inspire one another or relate to another upon them achieving Black Excellence.
After all, our journey in obtaining and fulfilling our ancestors’ chief desires have always been for #ADOS to satisfy their greatest ambitions.
Victor J. Glover, Jr. — a husband to a beautiful Black woman, a father to four beautiful girls (who occasionally sport afro-puffs), a man who gives back to his community, a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, a US Navy Commander and NASA Astronaut, but most notably a Black man — becomes the International Space Stations’ first person of visible African ancestry to join its residence in the program’s 20-year history.
According to his NASA bio, he “was selected as an astronaut in 2013 while serving as a Legislative Fellow in the United States Senate.” Currently, Glover serves “as pilot and second-in-command on the Crew-1 SpaceX Crew Dragon, named Resilience, which launched November 15, 2020. It is the first post-certification mission of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft – the second crewed flight for that vehicle – and a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station.”
He is also the International Space Station’s Flight Engineer for NASA’s 64th Expedition.
I’m sure he’s grateful for having the opportunity of learning to love Math and is equally thankful for having had access to take Calculus during his high school years. This academic foundation has solidified his fate in becoming a first.
According to the Atlantic, “fewer than half of all high schools in the United States offer calculus—and the kids who don’t have access to the Math course are disproportionately students of color.”
Glover is the embodiment of where hard work and preparedness meets opportunity.
While looking up at the night sky, I am sure his ancestors probably never imagined one of their descendants living in space.
For every American, moments of inspiration like this have been few and far between in 2020. And if there ever was a time this year to ignite the passion for space exploration into the minds of little Black boys and girls in classrooms across our nation, now is that time.
I hope teachers with Black students in their classrooms have the flexibility to meet this moment. Even if the teacher has only one Black student in their class, sharing Glover’s remarkable achievement would be a most equitable gift that would make him or her feel unique and more connected to what is being taught by their teacher.
Black parents should also share Glover’s accomplishments; it’s a way to keep our little ones’ morale up during this global pandemic that has undoubtedly altered all of our lives.
And for those who are not teachers or parents, consider investing in a minority STEM program. Your seed donation may blossom our next generation’s Glover.
Victor J. Glover joins the list of 14 other African Americans having the privilege of saying they’ve traveled beyond the heavens and into space.
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