One of America’s first Black astronauts, Ron McNair grew up poor in South Carolina, where he learned he had to work twice as hard and learn twice as much to succeed in a white world.
Astronaut, saxophonist, and karate black belt Ron McNair overcame an impoverished childhood in segregated Lake City, South Carolina to earn a Ph.D. in physics from MIT and become one of NASA’s first Black astronauts. Although Ron’s path to NASA was nearly derailed because of systematic racism and inequality, he found inspiration in the Black leaders around him and persevered.
Ron, the second son born to father Carl Sr., a mechanic, and mother Pearl, a schoolteacher, grew up in humble surroundings. The first home he could remember did not have indoor plumbing. The roof on the old “unpainted weather-beaten frame house” leaked; an entire room was made unlivable from water damage. On rainy days, the family set out pots and pans on the floors and the furniture to catch the dripping water.
Education would be his way out. By age three, Ron wad reading. By age four, his family said, “he was too smart to stay home.” Carl Sr. lied about Ron’s age to get him into kindergarten. By five, Ron was already wowing teachers, marching around school with a pencil behind his ear and a notebook in his hand. Ron flew through the material, skipped another grade, and joined his brother Carl’s class.
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