EDITOR’S NOTES: This week we do a rare thing. We begin with a question. We spend the larger part of our visit answering the question, then we honor birthdays and Move on Down the Line!

………………….

THE QUESTION COMES FROM ATTORNEY JOHN CATCHINGS OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, WHO WRITES, “DEAR MR. RUNDLES: AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE ENTERING WHAT WE AFRICAN AMERICANS CALL BLACK HISTORY MONTH – THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. I am building a black history library room in my new home, which is nearing completion. I have very little, if any, material on black astronauts, especially Ronald McNair, the NASA astronaut who died in the explosion which occurred 25 years ago – I mean the Spaceship Challenger.

“Mr. Rundles, I am told by a friend of mine in Chicago, that you not only knew Ron McNair, you helped plan the building and dedication of a Ron McNair museum there in Jackson. I wish you would brief me and others through your column about the life and times as well as the untimely death of this great man, who not only did so much (in space) with a special camera (with instructions from your planetarium director there in Jackson), but with lasers.

“I hear you ran this story once (some years ago) in your column. Could you do it again for those of us unfortunate enough to have missed it?”

Answer: Yes, I can. Ron McNair was a real friend of mine, and hardly a day passes without my thinking of him. Here are photos and words that speak to the final days of his life. Then, we give you some personal glimpses of his background and training and great genius, so admired by all who knew him!

First, let’s move through that tragic day when people all over the nation and especially on Farish Street here in Jackson shed tears of disbelief and sadness.

It was January 28, 1986. I was at home with my eyes fixed on the television set, as along with millions of others I prepared for the launching of the Space Shuttle Challenger from Kennedy Space Center (Florida). The announcer said, “Here they come,” and I glanced up in time to see the Challenger crew comprised of my friend Ron McNair and six others (including two women) make their way down the metal path toward the shuttle. Yes, there was Ron, number three, wearing that infectious smile.

Just ahead of him strode Christa McAuliffe, the schoolteacher who had been chosen from thousands who wanted to make the flight and make history in the doing. It was a cold morning, a rare 30 degrees. No flight had ever been launched in weather that cold. However, within minutes they were aboard the Challenger, strapped into their allotted seas.

Then, the announcer said, “Let’s switch over and pick up the count.” Then, the voice from the space center started saying smoothly, “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – we have liftoff.” I watched the shuttle as it zoomed skyward, leveled off … heavy down range … five miles … ten miles, then at eleven miles high and nine miles downrange about 73 seconds into the flight, the most horrible scene of my life unfolded. The Challenger exploded in a twisted mass of forked smoke.

A screaming blast of white cloud was followed almost immediately by a huge fireball, and rockets that blasted their way across the wintry sky. I could not believe what I was seeing. It just couldn’t be. I watched that space shuttle explode and it tore at my guts like the time I was talking to one of my Marine Corps sergeants on Iwo Jima, and in seconds, as I walked away about 30 yards, I glanced back and watched a Japanese shell blow his head off this body. It was an evil day.

Jacksonians, Mississippians, and all across America, black and white, who had come to know and love Ron E. McNair mourned his tragic loss. I guess I had better say again that during that period (and beyond for a total of 12 years) I was executive assistant to Jackson Mayor Dale Danks, Jr., and worked closely (when called upon) with Richard Knapp, planetarium director. About a year earlier, Richard had asked me if I could help him by picking up Ron when he was flown into the National Air Stations (near the current Jackson-Evers Airport) and bring him to the planetarium. I agreed to do it and that’s how Ron and I met.

Following Ron’s death, special ceremonies were held here in Jackson during which Ron’s widow, Cheryl McNair, and their two children were honored and presented with a large artist painting of Ron aboard a spaceship holding the special camera he had learned to use on his many visits to Jackson, something like once a month for a year. When his training with the camera was completed, Ron gave me a large photograph of himself with a photo of the Spaceship Challenger in the background.

He had been gracious enough to autograph the picture. In bold print he had written, “To Jim,  appreciate your support.” As you must know, it is today one of my most prized possessions.

Right here, I will discuss, only briefly, what some space experts say caused the tragic explosion that even today rings loud and brutally in the ears of many in and out of the program, especially those engineers who worked at Thiokol Company who made the shuttle. We will allow you to draw your own conclusions.

Their summation, to me, and a number of others was startling, to say the least. They had advised, strongly, against the launch. “It’s too cold. You are inviting tragedy,” they said.

Only one day earlier (before the launch) President Ronald Reagan had visited the space center and pondered the suggested delay. “We cannot continue to lag behind,” he admonished them. It later appeared to many that they listened to the President, although the technology company agreed with the engineers that the launching should have been delayed until the weather was warmer. I can only testify to what transpired.

But for Attorney John Catchings, and many others who have asked me for the background of Ron McNair, here is just a bit for your records, your libraries, and your salute.

Ronald E. McNair was a native of South Carolina and graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina A&T University. He was named a Presidential Scholar, a Ford Foundation Fellow, and received the Omega Psi Phi Scholar of the Year Award and National Society of Black Professional Engineers Distinguished National Scientist Award and the Who’s Who Among Black Americans Award (which is the only award that Ron and I shared; I received mine two years earlier.)

While at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Ronald E. McNair performed some of the earliest development of chemical high-pressure CO lasers. This was noted around the world. In 1975, he studied laser physics with several world authorities at the renowned school Les Houches in France. He later published many papers in the area of lasers and molecular spectroscopy, and gave many presentations in the United States. I have said it before and I happily repeat that Ron McNair was one of the smartest men in the world and the world of science and technology is a better place because he lived.

………………….

AND NOW, WE LOOK AT A FEW BIRTHDAYS OF THE STARS ON OUR ENTERTAINMENT HORIZON. First, here’s a lovely young lady that just made it into January as we enter Black History Month. Her name? Why Alicia Keys, of course. Who else? And take my word for it, she really knows what to do when she’s faced with a piano filled with keys.

Alicia Augello Cook, better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, was born January 25, 1981, in New York City. Alicia is a recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age 8, Alicia began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at age 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University and then signed with Arista Records.

Her debut album, Songs in a Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards. Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was also a great success, selling eight million copies worldwide.

Alicia made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with Charmed. She made her film debut in Smokin’ Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third album, As I Am, was released the same year and sold six million copies, plus earned Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. Billboard Magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000-2009 decade, establishing her as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

………………….

WHEN WORLD-RE-NOWNED ORCHESTRA LEADER GLENN MILLER RELEASED HIS HIGHLY AWARDED RECORDING OF AT LAST WITH RAY EBERLE ON THE VOCAL, HE NEVER DREAMED THAT A BEAUTEOUS YOUNG LADY WOULD FOLLOW UP WITH A VERSION OF HER OWN THAT WOULD BE FEATURED IN MOVIES, TELEVISION SHOWS AND COMMERCIALS THAT COULD RIVAL HIS MILLION-SELLING RECORDING.

But to the vital details. Jamesetta Hawkins, born January 25, 1938, is an American blues, soul, R&B, rock and roll, gospel, jazz singer and songwriter. Better known as Etta James, she is the winner of four Grammys and seventeen blues music awards.

She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. As we stated earlier, she is best known for performing “At Last.” Etta James has a contralto vocal range and is admired around the world.

………………….

IT’S HARD TO GO THROUGH A LIST OF TOP MUSICIANS WITHOUT GOING TO THE BIG EASY, FREE FLOWING, MUSICAL HUB CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. So, that’s where we’re headed.

Aaron Neville was born January 24 in New Orleans. He is a soul and Rock and Roll singer and musician who made his debut in 1966.

However, Neville did not really hit the charts favorably until 1989 when he collaborated with Linda Ronstadt on consecutive duets “Don’t Know Much,” and “All My Life.” Neville has had a career as a solo artist and as one of the Neville Brothers. He is of mixed African American and Native American (Indian) heritage and his music also features Cajun and Creole influences. We wish him a continued success in his career.

………………….

Weekly quotation: “How beautiful is youth! How bright it gleams with its illusions, aspirations, dreams! Book of Beginnings, Story without End, Each maid a heroine, and each man a friend! –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

JA Feature Historian

(January 13-19,2011)

EDITOR’S NOTES: A photo of and a word from the President. Oprah receives Kennedy Center honors as Farish Street cheers … Then questions and answers as we Move on Down the Line!

……………….

ON THE WALL OF MY BEDROOM, high above my telephone desk, I have an imposing picture of the President of the United States. In looking back over last year, and the year before, I often recall the event of his election (the first African American president of the United States) and some of the profound words in his inauguration speech. The inauguration was on January 20, 2009, in Washington, D.C…. of course. The inspiring message on the photo over my bed reads:

“We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit, to choose our better history, to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

Those are the words of President Barack Obama … and I bring them to the fore because they are just as apropos today as when first uttered!

By now it is agreed that more blacks across the South and the nation than ever before are engaged in politics. That also applies to the year just past (2010). But there is another “closer to home” reason. Have you forgotten that the first presidential debate between Obama and his republican opponent John McCain was held in Mississippi? It was at Ole Miss (The University of Mississippi) to be exact.

But seemingly the Obamas have an unusual tie with Mississippi. Barack practically started his campaign at Peaches Café on Farish Street. To sum up, it would seem that the Obama family is challenging us for this new year. They are saying, “There is nothing you can’t do if you put your shoulders to the wheel.” I agree. So listen up, get up and get started.

……………….

AND NOW, WE MAY SEEM TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT, BUT SOME OF THE PEOPLE WE HAVE JUST DISCUSSED PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE WITH THEIR PRESENCE, AND THE CELEBRATION THEY HELD FOR THE PRINCIPLES AFTER THE MAIN EVENT. We are, of course, talking about the great Kennedy Center Honors program held in the nation’s capital recently. And we’re talking mainly about the famous gal from Mississippi who was the first one presented to the overflow audience in attendance.

Of course we are talking about the one and only Oprah Winfrey, who was honored at the Great Hall. In the event you are unfamiliar with the Kennedy Center, let me help you. In Washington, D.C. there is a building just up the street from the infamous Watergate, named the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It is named for the late, great President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and it borders the Potomac River (at its rear) and every four years or so, those Americans who have made a contribution to the Arts in this nation are honored by their peers. Here, for your viewing, is a handsome photo of the building (at night) and another (daytime) with me standing in front of it.

You all know all about Oprah, and her contributions to the Arts in broadcasting, telecasting and many others she has placed in the spotlight. You know about her many charities (around the world, including Africa) don’t you? Since you seem to be slow answering, let me give you just a bit about her.

Oprah Gail Winfrey, born January 29, 1954, is an American host, producer, and philanthropist, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest rated program of its kind in history. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century (worth about $5 billion), and beyond, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and was once the only black billionaire in the world.

She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world. Some say she got Barack Obama elected to the presidency (at any rate, her strong public backing certainly garnered him votes, and made blacks flood to the polling places around the country).

Oprah was born in rural Mississippi to a teenage mother (who was single), and later raised in an inner city Milwaukee neighborhood. She experienced considerable hardship during her childhood, including being raped at the age of nine, and becoming pregnant at 14; her son died in infancy. She was sent to live with her father, a barber, in Tennessee.

Oprah landed a job in radio while still in high school, and began co-anchoring the local evening news at age 19. Her emotional ad lib delivery eventually got her transferred to the daytime talk show arena, and after becoming a third-rated local Chicago talk show host, she moved up to first in the ratings there. She then launched her own production company, and became internationally syndicated.

Credited with creating a more intimate confessional form of medical communications, she is thought to have popularized and revolutionized the tabloid talk show genre which had been pioneered by Phil Donahue, which a Yale study showed had broken 20th century taboos and allowed certain people to enter the mainstream regardless of their background.

By the mid 1990s, she had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self improvement, and spirituality. Though she was criticized for unleashing confession culture, and promoting controversial self help fads, she is generally admired for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others.

In 2006, she became an early supporter of Barack Obama, and one analysis estimated she delivered more than a million votes in the close 2008 Democratic primary race, a feat for which the governor of Illinois considered offering her a seat in the U.S. senate. That’s just a bit about Oprah. We congratulate her, and yes, that was President and Mrs. Obama seated beside her when she was honored at the Kennedy Center.

……………….

THEY ARE BRINGING US HONORS. There are a number of national celebrities who are constantly bringing favorable attention to the state of Mississippi, and more often than not, the city of Jackson. Another of these is Morgan Freeman. Granted he is credited with being a mentor to stars like Denzel Washington, he is often heard on health and welfare commercials, as well as charities while at the same time carving out a great film career. In my opinion, among the worse sins you can commit is the sin of ingratitude. By that I mean not showing appreciation for what others are doing for you.

He not only applauds Mississippi, he lives in Mississippi and has a business in Mississippi. Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Jr., has received Academy nominations for his performances in Driving Miss Daisy, Street Smart, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus.

He won the award in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. He has also won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Freeman has appeared in other box office hits including Unforgiving, Glory, Seven, Deep Impact, The Sum of All Fears, Bruce Almighty, Wanted, and “The Dark Knight.

……………….

WE WILL TAKE TIME FOR AT LEAST TWO QUESTIONS because we have been asked these over and over again. The first one has to do with a personal friend of ours as well as a giant among great musicians around the world, especially if they are of the blues genre. The question has to do with B.B. King. Thelma Longer of Memphis wrote us, most recently, asking: “Can you tell me exactly where B.B. King was born? Was it in Memphis or Mississippi?”

ANSWER: Yes I can. Riley B. (B.B.) King was born on a plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. His parents were Alfred King and Nora Ella King. That is where he was born, and for the most part, where he grew up. B.B. was born on September 16, 1925, and is considered an American icon when it comes to blues guitarist, singer, song-writer.

……………….

THE NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM HERE IN JACKSON, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH A MEMBER OF MY FAMILY. Actually, he is my nephew, the son of my late brother Joel Rundles. The question is basically, “Whatever happened to Anthony Rundles, your nephew?”

ANSWER: Anthony has just graduated from the University of Phoenix at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. I said “just graduated.” Actually the commencement was on September 11, 2010, and he is doing just fine. I hear from him often through his mother, who still stops by to visit Mattie and me quite often. She has married again, but we still love her and Anthony and the other children.

Then finally from Brandy Thomas of Vicksburg. “Dear Jim, when you were singing with an orchestra, some time ago, you used to sing a song called ‘This Changing World.’ I loved the words. I hear you wrote the song. Did you? Do you remember the words?”

ANSWER: No, I did not write the song.

………………..

QUOTATION FOR THE WEEK: “This Changing World”: This changing world, this changing scene. Where is it taking us? What does it mean? As long as we’re certain of each other, we know we don’t have to be afraid. These changing times, we rise above. They never bother us, we have our love. And love is the only thing that still remains the same. Through all this changing world.”