The Legacy Of Challenger Astronaut Ronald McNair

Ronald McNair, a physicist, was one of the astronauts who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. This ABC News story notes that "[i]n 1959, when McNair was just 9 years old, he famously made a scene at the Lake City [South Carolina] Public Library. Residents stared the African American boy down and watched as he walked to the main counter and attempted to check out books on advanced science and calculus. The librarian refused to release them and told him, 'We don't circulate books to Negroes.'" When McNair refused to leave the police were called and McNair's mother Pearl arrived at the library. The officers "determined the boy was not causing any public disturbance and Pearl convinced the librarian she'd pay for the books if they were not returned. The librarian gave in."