First African American astronaut honored with statue on Bradley's campus
The unveiling ceremony featured a sizable crowd, with speakers ranging from Peoria Mayor Rita Ali to Fisher Stolz, the sculptor who created the statue.
Lawrence was born and raised in Chicago, graduating from Englewood High School on the city's south side in 1952 at the age of 16.
From there, he attended Bradley and graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1956. At Bradley, he was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity and a Cadet Commander in the Air Force ROTC.
He went on to become an Air Force pilot and was selected as an astronaut in 1967, thus becoming the first African American astronaut.
One of those in attendance on Friday was Will Eppes, a distant cousin of Lawrence. He hopes Lawrence's story can inspire others to try their best at whatever they do.
'This man was rejected several times from NASA, and he did not stop. If he would have stopped, we would not have a statue. You wouldn't have me here speaking about him,' he said.
Eppes is currently working on a documentary about Lawrence, hoping to tell his family member's story in a way that hasn't been done yet.
Tragically, Lawrence died at the age of 32 in 1967 during a training exercise where he was instructing a trainee on different flying techniques.
His legacy lives on through an asteroid named after him in the belt between Mars and Jupiter and now through this statue at his alma mater.
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