Major Robert Lawrence, PhD, the First African American Astronaut
 

The following link is to a commemorative profile of Bro. Robert Lawrence, Air Force test pilot and physical chemist who was the first African American astronaut. A 1956 graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, Ill, where he pledged Omega Psi Phi and ran track, he died in a tragic plane crash as an instructor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnoEmiZko9s