On Feb. 17, 1998, the Greensboro City Council passed a
resolution to honor Ronald McNair’s memory every year on Jan.
28.
On Feb. 17, 1998, the Greensboro City Council passed a resolution to honor Ronald McNair’s memory every year on Jan. 28.
Last Saturday, there was a commemorative breakfast in Stallings Ballroom. The program was sponsored by the Tau Omega Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and took place from 8:30 a.m. until noon. The keynote speaker for the breakfast was George C. Fraser, chairman and CEO of FraserNet, Inc.
Fraser, a motivational speaker who has had leadership positions with Proctor and Gamble, the United Way and Ford Motor Company, spoke on the state of African Americans. He focuses on success principals, networking, finding purpose and passion in life and strengthening black America. He spoke on how our true heroes are not entertainers, but people like Ronald McNair.
McNair was born Oct. 21, 1950, in Lake City, S.C.. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from N.C. A&T in 1971, where he graduated magna cum laude. He received a Ph.D. in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976.
McNair performed some of the earliest development with CO2 lasers and became known as a laser expert while working for the Hughes Research Laboratory. In 1978, he was selected as an astronaut candidate by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). After a year of training, he became qualified as a mission specialist on space shuttles.
McNair’s first mission happened on the Challenger on February 3, 1984, making him the second African American to travel into space. While in space, one of his duties included launching the communications satellite while orbiting the earth.
By the mid-1980s, shuttle launches had become a regular event. NASA and President Reagan wanted there to be a trip that would bring excitement to the nation. They decided that the 1986 Challenger flight would be the first to carry a citizen, a teacher named Christa McAuliffe.
On Jan. 28 1986 the Challenger exploded after launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All who were aboard the Challenger died. The explosion was caused by a fuel leakage due to the O-rings exposure to cold air.
Ronald McNair’s wife, Cheryl, gave closing remarks before everyone marched from Memorial Student Union to McNair Hall following the breakfast. When everyone reached McNair, a wreath was laid on the Ronald McNair Hall Lawn in tribute. Senior Biology major Eboni Smith said, “The program is one that is necessary to preserve the memory of Ronald McNair. Fraser did an excellent job of inspiring people to want more. Not just for themselves, but for African Americans as a whole.”
Fraser believes that we can enact change on the world, much in the same way that McNair did. “The responsibility for change lies with us,” Fraser said. “I believe everything begins with words and that will eventually lead to action and change.” Fraser’s father once said to him, “What you do speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you say.”
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- Noma Vilane, Contributor
