We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program

by Richard Paul, Steven Moss

The Space Age began just as the struggle for civil rights forced Americans to confront the long and bitter legacy of slavery, discrimination, and violence against African Americans. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson utilized the space program as an agent for social change, using federal equal employment opportunity laws to open workplaces at NASA and NASA contractors to African Americans while creating thousands of research and technology jobs in the Deep South to ameliorate poverty. 'We Could Not Fail' tells the inspiring, largely unknown story of how shooting for the stars helped to overcome segregation on earth.

Richard Paul and Steven Moss profile 10 pioneer African American space workers whose stories illustrate the role NASA and the space program played in promoting civil rights. They recount how these technicians, mathematicians, engineers, and an astronaut candidate surmounted barriers to move, in some cases literally, from the cotton fields to the launching pad. The authors vividly describe what it was like to be the sole African American in a NASA work group and how these brave and determined men also helped to transform Southern society by integrating colleges, patenting new inventions, holding elective offices, as well as reviving and governing defunct towns. Adding new names to the roster of civil rights heroes and a new chapter to the story of space exploration, 'We Could Not Fail' demonstrates how African Americans broke the color barrier by competing successfully at the highest level of American intellectual and technological achievement.

©2015 Richard Paul and Steven Moss (P)2019 Audible, Inc

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Space, Biography, African American, Race

274 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2015

About the author

Richard Paul is an award-winning public radio documentary producer.

In 2010, he produced "Race and the Space Race," which told the stories of the first African Americans in the space program. In 2012, he was named the Verville Fellow at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where he co-wrote "We Could Not Fail: the First African Americans in the Space Program.

Before becoming an independent producer, Richard spent 14 years at WAMU-FM in Washington, DC, beginning as producer of The Diane Rehm Show. Prior to that, he spent six years as a press aide in the United States Senate and was a member of the musical political satire troupe, The Capitol Steps for 30 years.

Reviews

[Amy Zlatic · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this. It's not well-written and is way too broad in scope. I thought I was going to get some real insight through personal stories and recollections. Nope. It's a general overview of the fight for civil rights in America with a focus on one huge government agency. The premise of this topic is fantastic. Execution is poor. I'm not sure if there were no stories to tell after the interviews were complete (unlikely) or if the interviews were conducted as poorly as the writing...but either way don't waste your time. There is a gem here and there, but I made it over halfway through and finally just gave up. A rare gem isn't enough. Listen to the interview on NPR instead. That's where I heard about this book and it sounded fascinating. Turns out all the best stuff is in the interview. I wish I could like this. The story should be incredible.

[Stefanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this is a really important topic, but the book has issues.

First, it squicks me out that the main author is white and I can't find any information on the second author, and neither of them put their pictures in the back of the book so I had to go digging. (No one but a white person would include photos of Werner von Braun captioned as "Nazi Werner von Braun" then continue to reference what an important figure he is in nearly every chapter.)

Second, this book reads like an academic paper without a thesis. It's a jumble of stories of whoever they could get interviews with or access to, and none of it is cohesive. It feels like the authors wanted to tell this story, didn't know how, and threw this book together anyway.

Thirdly, it's not even really about NASA. It's mostly about the racism in the South, specifically Alabama.

I also found it troublesome how often this book puts a halo on black people who were willing to step away from their dreams in the face of segregation. I understand I'm writing this from a place of modern and white privilege, but I wish the authors had done something other than say "look at how polite these black people were and they still achieved things," because it feels like they are denouncing necessary work that has been done and is being done to fight racism.

[Nancy Miyamoto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time following the transitions from personal stories of the NASA employees to the political and general environment. I felt the book focused more on MSFC/Alabama vs NASA as whole, which was a bit disappointing. I also wondered why it only focused on the experiences of black males at NASA, and did not include black females. Overall, I appreciate that this book was written and documented some of the experiences of black male professionals at NASA during the early civil rights movement.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good book, excellently researched, a fascinating topic. A trifle dry at times. I would recommend it, nevertheless.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

After writing a master's thesis on the intersection between NASA and the 1960s civil rights movement, Steven Moss teamed with Richard Paul to produce this book. These authors present the idea that the U.S. federal government was deeply committed to two goals during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations: spaceflight and reshaping the racial landscape of the southern part of the nation. Thus NASA facilities emerged in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, with Kennedy and Johnson each hoping that African-Americans could obtain rewarding jobs at these locations thanks to the emphasis on equal employment opportunity championed by the government.

Moss and Paul were able to interview and recount the stories of some of the African-Americans who moved "literally from the cotton fields to the launch pad," in the case of Morgan Watson. These people did not typically protest for racial equality, but made their presence felt in another way: through their hard work and competence in working on spaceflight, they altered the attitudes of their white colleagues about what African-Americans could accomplish. The authors are quick to point out that the percentage of African-Americans working at NASA remained disappointingly low throughout the 1960s, staying at about 3 percent. NASA also achieved only a mixed level of success in altering racial attitudes at the southern cities where their facilities were located. Yet Moss and Paul still believe in the value of letting readers know about those who opened the door to African-American employment at NASA. They have done well to tell the stories of people who even many space historians probably are not familiar with, as well as explain the motivations of the federal government in encouraging their employment. All of the people profiled in this book are men, so the reader should be aware that it does leave out the experiences of women such as those Margot Lee Shetterly wrote about in Hidden Figures. The writing is also more dry and academic than some readers would prefer. But this is definitely a worthy addition to literature on spaceflight.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so intent on telling us about the trees that there were places where I feel like it really missed the fact that there was a forest.

We Could Not Fail is about how federal policy, through the specific lens of NASA, dealt with, responded to, and shaped race relationships, particularly Black and white relationships, and particularly in the South. A number of Black men’s (never women’s) stories are used to illustrate and highlight the challenges, progress, stumbling blocks, and shifts in Black/white relationships in the specific communities where NASA had a presence as the space race got started and went on. It seems to tell that story very well.

I’d also note that it is really a book about federal race policy, and not a biography of 10 or 11 Black men who worked for NASA. Their stories are in there, but more to illustrate points.

It is also *very* (in my estimation *too*) complimentary of presidents and policy makers, to the point that I would say that the authors are apologists for the US government. For example, early on the authors talk about JFK and his commitment to racial progress as if it was his idea, only eventually and sometimes quietly giving a line or two to the fact that JFK was (reluctantly) responding to massive public pressure campaigns in the form of community organizing by SNCC, CORE, the SCLC, COFO, and the resounding commitment of local Black individuals working together to create upward pressure. Later in the book, the authors frequently talk about the amazing progress that NASA was making… and then give a cursory acknowledgement to the fact that the Black community “didn’t see it that way.”

I did appreciate the insider/ outsider perspective that the authors gave to what conditions were like in the workplace vs. outside the workplace, and within the communities that had NASA facilities vs. in the rest of the state. The changes were very local, and that depiction was a strength of the book.

The question I often ask myself is, “Would an author of a different demographic tell the story a different way?” I think the answer for this book is yes. I think women authors would have included Black women (this book came out a year before Hidden Figures, so there were no other books out about Black women at NASA – these authors either ignored, disregarded, or were simply too gendered in their own thinking to include women), and I think either due to funding pressures, personal histories, or cultural biases, this leans too far toward “Black staff who didn’t make a fuss were good and isn’t the government wonderful.”

So overall, I do think this book adds some nice perspective to the role that the federal government played in using its policy and funding mandates to make space for change, particularly in the South, but I also hope that people read this in conjunction with a lot of other material. I’ve never seen the NASA hiring policies discussed anywhere else than Hidden Figures (and I read a lot about science and about race), so this is a welcome addition, if read with a critical eye.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough and interesting overview of the big picture of NASA's effect on the civil rights movement and vice versa. Enlivened through the device of tying one or more pioneering African American space workers to each chapter and telling some about their work, their ways of coping with racism, and their lives in general.

Minor complaints: The voice was a bit dry. Also, I would've rather learned more about the people who were doing the scientific/technical work, as well as their immediate experiences, and less about the white male administrators and their political infights with each other over the best way to fail to do nearly as much good as they could have. (Not to mention their opponents. Honestly, from a purely selfish point of view I could do without learning anything more about George Wallace ever, that man just managed to ruin lives and make things more miserable everywhere he went, what a terrible person he was and how much space he takes up as a thoroughly irredeemable villain in every civil rights history that gets anywhere near Alabama.)

BUTTTTTT both of those groups are an important part of history and I thought the big picture story and the individual men's lives were interwoven reasonably well. This is a definitely a different lens on the history of the US space program than anything else I've read!

[Lee Murray Brazos Booksellers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the Time

Not an easy read, but definitely worth the time you will invest. Much more tedious than The Warmth of Other Suns, it is very much burdened with a lot of stats, and other types of measurements on the effectiveness of NASA. I never got a clear read on some of the administrators--sometimes they were ineffective and shallow, other times brave. Perhaps that is real life. At times characters like Wernher can Braun felt stereotyped. Van Braun is scarcely mentioned without reference to his Nazi and SS past.

That being said, it is another level of understanding of the Sixties and race relations in the South following the lives and careers of selected men. The story is amazing, and for that reason this book needs to be read and understood and put into context with Dr. King, Hidden Figures, The Warmth of Other Suns, and several others for a clearer picture of these turbulent times. Recommended reading.

[Jake Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phenomenal thesis: LBJ pushed NASA as a tech jobs program in the South, whose economic consequences, and forced EEOC compliance, would promote racial equality. The social motivation for NASA's Southern presence -- Houston, Huntsville, Cape Canaveral, Hancock -- never occurred to me before.

I'm so torn on the concept of NASA as promoter of racial equality. Its affirmative action seems to assume that there are (1) qualified black engineers who (2) want to work in Alabama & Mississippi and (3) will be welcome there. This fantasy belittles the depth of racial injustice in the 1960's South. Similar fantasies belittle the depth of racial injustice today. On the other hand, where else do you start?

[Brace1737 · Rating 3 out of 5]

We Could Not Fail investigates the role of NASA as an equal opportunity employer during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States in the 1960's.The authors present the stories of little known African-American men who were among NASA's first black employees. These men faced difficulties in job advancement,finding housing and downright indifference from white co-workers.

The book works best when it focuses on their stories. However, it is less interesting when it gets stuck in political policy analysis of how presidential employment directives were or were not carried out at NASA

[Pat]

Interesting premise, poorly executed. The authors seem to applaud the black professionals who didn’t march or protest, but instead went along to get along, making a connection to the broader civil rights movement and NASA’s role in it. However, ultimately NASA’s impact was fleeting if it existed at all. Perhaps the best thing about the book was the insight on JFK and LBJ regarding race relations. But, how does one write a book about NASA and make nary a mention of the black women calculators, i.e., the “hidden figures?” Sadly, they are hidden in this book. Overall, lots of promise that went unfulfilled.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for an entertaining male version of Hidden Figures, you will be disappointed in this book. Very academic and dry, it leaves you wanting to hear more about the 10 African American men who got into the space program through government civil rights efforts. Enlightening but not entertaining.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Echos of Hidden Figures with a bit broader scope. I often finished each chapter wishing for a little more depth and information - a lot of the material focuses on broad strokes of history surrounding the time, which I had already read elsewhere. Still enjoyable!

[Davina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book seemed scholarly without being too drug down in theory. I think this is an important tale to tell, and this work seems to do a more than admirable job of doing it. The net on this is, NASA helped but not as much as we might have liked, and only where they could hold real power.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I learned a lot and I'm glad I read this book it is rather dry reading. It is not written in the literary journalism style (like a novel) so it's more like reading a dissertation.

[Lauren Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a thoroughly researched book with good insights. It can be repetitive at times, but overall a decent read.

[Cornelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The story is so interesting but the writing is kind of dry and drags on in places. Would highly recommend a documentary version of the book if it existed.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning about NASA's beginnings

[Angela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an excellent book. Had read Hidden Figures...It was revealing to read about the African-American contributions to NASA and the space age.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between the murder of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, and both political and racial riots throughout the United States, 1968 was a tumultuous year for the American nation. It closed, however, with the glimpse of a hopeful future -- a glimpse of the heavens, as three astronauts circled the Moon in low orbit in December. We Could Not Fail is a history of NASA's connection with the Civil Rights movement, revealing how its vision of the future threw light upon the dark legacy of the Jim Crow past. The history unfolds in a series of miniature biographies, though only one actually approaches the astronaut program. Most of the people involved worked as NASA technicians or within industries that supplied it. NASA shared its history with the Civil Rights program, and not simply because the movement's most restive years coincided with the push for space, during the administrations of men who claimed (in JFK's case) or devoutly cared about fulfilling the promise of the American dream. The space ideal of NASA didn't just help inspire Americans, southerners included, to push beyond old limits -- it also provided the means for uplifting the south. Johnson, a Texan himself, believed that the greatest hindrance to the south growing beyond segregation was its economic despondency. Create regional prosperity in the south, he figured, and inequality and the institutions that supported it would evaporate away. Because NASA was the most highly visible arm of the Federal government during this years, it had a special responsibility to effect more equal hiring practices. Despite the pressure of the Kennedy brothers and Johnson, NASA struggled, more for want of material than ideas. Most engineers and support staff were recruited from the south itself, and segregated communities ceded ground only grudgingly to what NASA administrator James Webb wanted to do. One struggle, for instance, was reforming local housing politics, as discrimination kept black employees from relocating near NASA's base of operations. Similarly, while there were black technical schools, NASA overlooked them: fortunately, men like Julius Montgomery, a black engineer, were advocating for the integration of places like Florida Tech. We Could Not Fail documents well the struggle of LBJ and Webb to make NASA's promise a reality, through the lives of the would-be astronauts, activists, engineers, teachers, and other ordinary heroes who endured oppression with moral dignity, persevering until their value both as human beings and pioneers in a new age of exploration were recognized.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before the women of “Hidden Figures,” there were the “Water Walkers” also known as Morgan Watson and George Bourda. In order to be noticed by NASA, they had to be exceptional, not just above average but “walk on water” exceptional and as the title suggests “they could not fail.” Richard Paul and Steven Moss profile 10 exceptional African Americans and their contributions to the Space Race in the early 1960s. This book does an excellent job of illuminating how delicately and intricately the Civil Rights movement, Space Race, War on Poverty, and Cold War were affected and influenced by one another. This book was especially eye-opening for me because I grew up in Huntsville, AL (largely where this book takes place) and Wernher von Braun was revered as a demi-god. What many people overlook was that he was a Nazi and his German V-2 rockets were built from the slave labor at the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. When von Braun defected to the United States he suddenly became the poster child for equal rights for African Americans in the deep South? Why? Because Johnson wouldn’t give him federal funding for the space program if he didn’t hire African Americans…

[BMR, LCSW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible history of Black men at the genesis of NASA, and the trials they went through to prove themselves. I'd like to see a comprehensive history written of all people of color, men and women, in technical positions at NASA (as they are rarely mentioned in most history books).

[Dwight Quarles Jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting about the civil rights movement, the South and the Space program. Learned a ton about the work of people in the background to push for equal rights and equal pay outside of the limelight.

[Glenda Nelms · Rating 5 out of 5]

inspiring and historical book on African Americans changing the space program by their strength, faith, sacrifice and hard work.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great look at a part of American history that has been conveniently untaught to the children. I personally am sick of selective historical teaching.

[Umma]

*review to come*