Ed Dwight of Denver has lived a remarkable life that spans multiple chapters of American history, serving as both witness and participant in pivotal moments of the civil rights movement and space exploration. At 92 years old, he holds the distinction of being America's first Black astronaut candidate, a celebrated sculptor of iconic American figures, and the oldest person ever to travel to space. His extraordinary journey reads like a Hollywood screenplay – and indeed, filmmakers are now negotiating to bring his life story to the big screen.
Dwight's most famous encounter with history began during the height of the Space Race in 1961, when President John F. Kennedy directed the space program to include a Black candidate in astronaut training. After an extensive search for someone meeting all the rigorous prerequisites, they found their perfect match in Air Force pilot Ed Dwight. Despite completing the demanding astronaut training program, Dwight was ultimately denied the opportunity for space travel, leading him to forge successful careers in business and art before becoming the subject of a National Geographic documentary.
Sixty years after his initial astronaut training, Dwight finally achieved his space dreams when he launched aboard a Blue Origin rocket, becoming the oldest person ever to journey into space. This achievement has brought him renewed recognition, with Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, along with Representative Joe Neguse, introducing legislation to award him the Congressional Gold Medal. "These last few years I've been doing nothing but running around the country, getting awards from people and being inducted into halls of fame for everything you can imagine," Dwight laughed during a recent interview.
Dwight's journey of breaking color barriers began early in his childhood in Kansas City, Kansas, where he lived with his grandparents. He spent his youth helping his grandmother with household chores and accompanying his grandfather, who worked as a junk collector, on daily rounds with their horse and mule-drawn wagon. "We had a horse and a mule, and we went in his wagon and I was his arms and legs. I'd jump off the wagon – he'd see a piece of metal and I'd throw it on the back of the truck," Dwight recalled.
When Dwight and his sister reached high school age, their mother was determined to continue their Catholic education and enrolled them at the all-white Bishop Ward High School. However, when school officials discovered the children were Black, their admission was promptly rescinded. Undeterred, Dwight's mother took an extraordinary step: she wrote directly to the Pope. Her appeal was successful, and the Pope ordered the school to integrate, making Dwight the first Black male to graduate from Bishop Ward High School.
This early experience of integration proved invaluable preparation for his future challenges. "It prepared me for my future. It made me not afraid of going out and dealing in a white world," Dwight explained. "You begin to discern who the good guys are, and who the bad guys are, and who can really help, and who won't. And that's the good part of going to an integrated school, where you can study at that level how to conduct your business in a white world. Story of my life."
Dwight's fascination with aviation began at an early age, leading him to join the Air Force in 1953. His life took a dramatic turn in 1961 when history came calling in the form of President Kennedy's directive to add a Black astronaut to the training program. Kennedy had made this promise to Black community leaders in exchange for their support during his presidential campaign, and the space program needed to find a suitable candidate. Dwight checked every box on their requirements list: he was a skilled pilot and engineer, the right age and height, and possessed all the necessary qualifications.
When initially approached about joining the astronaut program, Dwight's first response was a firm "No." He had valid reasons for his hesitation, having consulted with his superior officers who unanimously advised against it. "First of all, I took it to my superior officers. I said, 'What do you think about this?' And every single one of them told me, 'No, don't you touch it. Leave it alone. You've got a great career, Ed. You're going to be a general. So leave it alone,'" Dwight remembered. One officer warned him particularly bluntly: "They're going to make hamburger out of you down there, and you're going to lose your Air Force career."
This prediction would ultimately prove accurate, but another powerful voice intervened: his mother's. "'You'd better do this!' Dwight remembered her saying. 'Black people are depending on you.'" Heeding his mother's words, Dwight joined the training program, beginning a journey that would forever change his life.
The assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 marked another pivotal moment in Dwight's story. The tragedy had immediate implications for his future, as he received transfer orders to Germany within days of the president's death. Refusing to accept this setback, Dwight flew to Washington for a crucial meeting with Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. "And we sat down in a room and he cut those orders off and said, 'You're not going anywhere. You're going to stay in training,'" Dwight recalled.
Despite Bobby Kennedy's intervention and completing his astronaut training, Dwight was eventually transferred away from the program and left the Air Force without ever reaching space. However, as history would later prove, this was not the end of his story but rather the beginning of another remarkable chapter.
After leaving the military, Dwight successfully transitioned into the business world, working at IBM before becoming a successful entrepreneur. He founded The Rib Cage, a chain of barbecue restaurants, and established a thriving real estate development company. During his time visiting construction sites, he began collecting scraps of metal, reminiscent of his childhood days helping his grandfather. Though he had always loved art as a child, he had set aside these interests to focus on engineering and his military career.
Now, later in life, Dwight began experimenting with welding these metal scraps into abstract art pieces for his home. His artistic journey took a significant turn when George Brown, Colorado's first Black Lieutenant Governor, commissioned him to create a sculpture for the Colorado Capitol. "I had never sculpted any before. I'd just welded junk together," Dwight admitted. The sculpture was exceptionally well-received, marking the beginning of his distinguished career as a sculptor.
Working with Lieutenant Governor Brown proved transformative in another crucial way: it sparked Dwight's deep interest in Black history. Brown introduced him to figures he had never heard of despite being 42 years old. "He said, 'Have you ever heard of Harry Tubman?' I said, 'No. What did she do?' And he went down the list. Frederick Douglass. I was 42 years old. I had never heard those names in my life," Dwight recalled. "And I got mad. I had no idea."
This revelation prompted a dramatic career change. Dwight left the business world entirely and enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Denver, dedicating himself to sculpting monuments and memorials of important Black Americans. One of his first major commissions after graduation came from the Colorado Centennial Commission, asking him to create bronze sculptures depicting the contributions of Black Americans to the development of the American West.
From that foundation, Dwight's reputation as a sculptor grew exponentially. His impressive portfolio of installations reads like a comprehensive guide to Black American history, featuring legendary figures such as Frederick Douglass, Duke Ellington, Harriet Tubman, Hank Aaron, and Barack Obama. Among his most notable local works is the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. located in Denver's City Park. His sculptures have earned a place in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum, cementing his status as a significant American artist.
When asked to identify his favorite work among all the historical legends he has memorialized, Dwight chose a less famous but deeply personal subject: his grandparents. His reasoning was heartfelt and revealing: "All the things they did for me. And neither one of them was ever in the sight of a school in their lives. So as a result of that, what they were teaching me were reactions to the human condition, and how to make things better and better and better." Through his sculpture work, Dwight had created an impressive body of work that both memorialized and elevated overlooked aspects of American history.
In 2024, at the age of 90, Ed Dwight finally achieved what he had trained for six decades earlier when he launched into space aboard a Blue Origin rocket, officially becoming an astronaut and setting the record as the oldest person ever to travel to space. Despite his extensive training from the 1960s, he wasn't entirely prepared for the intense experience of launch. "When the booster lit, it was the damnedest explosion you have ever heard in your life," he said. "And I thought the thing blew up. I thought I was dead," he laughed.
Dwight described his experience in space as profoundly spiritual and transformative. "When you look down at that earth, and it's so beautiful and well ordered and innocent looking, and there are no dividing lines between countries, there's no dividing lines between states and the water is beautiful, the mountains, I mean, everything is just, it's just magical," he reflected. With this achievement, Ed Dwight added yet another historic milestone to his remarkable life story, proving that dreams deferred are not necessarily dreams denied.
