After the hustle and bustle of the work week, the weekend offers a chance hopefully to slow down and engage in moments of reflection. Lately, I find myself thinking a lot about the past, both because I find it inherently interesting and because I think it helps make sense of the present. The idea of history carries extra weight now as we see many cynically trying to rewrite, or write out of existence, history we should be working on remembering, not forgetting —from the distant annals of slavery to the events of January 6.
Last week I wrote about the Tulsa Massacre and called it a “hole in our history.” By that phrase I meant an event worthy of lengthy examination that has been largely forgotten. Lately, the horrors of what happened in Tulsa a century ago have gotten belated recognition. That is a positive development but it also shows how much we have to learn about the country we think we know.
The past looms large over us, in ways good and bad. And I plan to make “holes in our history” a common theme on Steady.
In this spirit, I wanted to share a short film for this week’s “Weekend Watch.” It tells the story of Edward Dwight, Jr. That his name has been largely forgotten is a national shame. He was set to become the first Black astronaut and his story deserves to no longer be a hole in our history.
I hope you find this film as worthy of your time and attention as I have. Please let us know what you think about it and the general idea of “holes in our history” in the comments section. And add your own nominations for moments, people, books, artistic expressions or other elements from history that we need to resurrect in our national consciousness.
Thank you all, as always,
Dan and Steady Team