SPACE RACE SLOWS RACE FOR EQUALITY
By TJ
In the 1960s, three major events were happening in America: the Vietnam War, the Space Race, and the Civil Rights movement. However, the Space Race took American attention away from the horrors of war and the Civil Rights movement and cast America in a positive light to white suburbia. In “Whitey on the Moon” (1970), Gil Scott-Heron points out that while the government was putting white men on the moon, people, especially African Americans, are struggling mightily and the government is taxing heavily in order to put people on the moon. This is shown when he says, “Was all that money I made las’ year, [for Whitey on the moon?]."
The Space Race was also highly hypocritical because of its preaching about the American Dream while many at home were denied this dream. For example, in “Fly Me to the Moon: Space, Race and the American Dream” (2011), Jeanne Krenzer writes, “Sure enough, cultural forums identified the space race [sic] with the American Dream, as put forth implicitly by Kennedy’s rhetoric. However, this cultural vision was a postwar realization of the American Dream as represented by the suburbs." What she means is that the Space Race is represented by white, male-dominated, middle-class America.
I believe that the Space Race is still extremely glorified today and this is only beginning to change with recognition of contributors, like the African American women portrayed in the film Hidden Figures. All in all, the Space Race made a negative impact on the fight for justice and equality by giving people an event to look to and say, “Hey, everything’s fine and dandy!” and not worry about the problems at home while also creating space for a large amount of well-veiled racism and bigotry.