How the first Black astronaut candidate became a prolific Denver sculptor

DENVER — From wax to bronze, Ed Dwight brings sculptures to life in his Denver studio. Miles Davis, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass are among the African American greats he’s memorialized in art. But before he started welding metal, Dwight made history himself.

“I entered the military back in 1953,” Dwight, now 90 years old, said. He moved up the ranks as an Air Force pilot.

“I had a wonderful career going in 1961 when I got a letter,” he said. The John F. Kennedy White House asked him to go from flying military jets to preparing for space.

“I thought it was craziest thing I’ve ever heard. I had absolutely zero interest in being an astronaut,” he said. “But my mother got into the mix… In her mind, it was, ‘Well, look what you could do for the race,’ and all that kind of stuff.”

It was the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and others in the Black community also expected Dwight to stand up for his people.

“I wasn’t there to save the race. I was there to go into space,” Dwight said.

Read the rest of this article and watch the accompanying video on Denver7.com