Commanding Space –
The Rise of Annie Easley and the Centaur Rocket

"When people have their biases and prejudices, yes, I am aware. My head is not in the sand. But my thing is, if I can’t work with you, I will work around you. I was not about to be discouraged that I’d walk away. That may be a solution for some people, but it’s not mine.”

Spoken by Annie Easley, those words defined how a young African American woman worked to break gender and color boundaries while excelling for 34 years in a field dominated by white men. Easley was a ground-breaking rocket scientist, mathematician, and computer engineer who worked on the Centaur rocket project and early versions of batteries for hybrid vehicles.

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For more information contact:

Kate Laissle
Associate Director of Education
315-442-7755
kmlaissl@syr.edu

"Our 150 students were totally engaged during the entire one hour performance and had so many questions and comments after that the teachers had to ask the Backstory actor and director to stop taking questions because the students needed to return to class!"

- Maureen Gilroy, Educator (Fall Creek Elementary School)