Letters to the Editor: The first Black astronaut to the moon — whose progress is it?

To the editor: “A giant leap for a whole race” — your print headline for the article on astronaut Victor Glover Jr.’s selection for NASA’s next moon mission — might be an accurate title, but the “race” in question isn’t Black people.

To quote Chris Rock about the election of Barack Obama as president: “That’s not Black progress. That’s white progress. There’s been Black people qualified to be president for hundreds of years.”

Similarly, there have been Black astronauts ready and able to take on any NASA mission for a very long time. It’s not Black progress that Glover will break this barrier — it’s NASA’s.

Kay M. Gilbert, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: Thank you for highlighting the importance of having Glover pilot NASA’s Artemis II mission to the moon next year. Reporter Tyrone Beason wrote a beautiful and powerful story about the importance of the moon in the history of Black Americans.

The print headline was not quite right, however, and I’d like to suggest this thought: Yes, his selection is a giant leap for a whole race. More importantly, it is a giant leap for the whole human race.

When one person pushes through a previously unopened door, it is a victory for all of us. Access should not be denied in the first place. It allows all of us the joy of greeting this person on the other side with smiles, applause and congratulations.

Well done, Mr. Glover. May you have a great and safe journey.

Lizbeth M. Bell, Santa Monica