ROGER KASA/PLAINSMAN Andre’ Samples, a professional actor, holds some of the miniature spacecraft items that Dr. Ronald McNair used in his training and participation in the ill-fated explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986, killing McNair and the other six crew members. Samples gave a program on McNair to Huron Middle School students Thursday.

Huron Middle School students were given a vivid portrayal Thursday of what life was like in the South before segregation and how a young black man grew up to become an astronaut.

Andre’ Samples, a professional actor affiliated with Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis, said he was asked by the studio if he would be interested in portraying the life of Dr. Ronald McNair.

McNair was aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger that exploded shortly after takeoff in 1986, killing all seven crew members.

In an interview, Samples said he was challenged by the invitation to play McNair and enjoyed doing the research on the man’s life.

“I didn’t experience segregation,” Samples said, “but to realize he did and how he overcame all the obstacles is amazing.”

Samples said many people are not acquainted with McNair, and this is his way of introducing this man to the country.

He tells the students that McNair grew up in South Carolina and graduated from North Caroline A&T University. He continued his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and got his doctorate in physics.

Samples said the message he hopes the students took away from the program is “ordinary people can accomplish great things.”

After McNair got his doctorate, he did research in California before applying and joining the astronaut program. He went into space once before the ill-fated 1986 flight.

The program — sort of a mini-Chautauqua performance where the person doing the talking has done research on the individual he is talking about — goes back to McNair’s early brushes with segregation.

Samples tells about the time McNair went into a drugstore and saw two white boys take magazine, move to the counter, sit down and start to read it.

He did the same.

But after sitting down at the counter near the white boys, the drugstore owner came up to him and asked him to leave. In fact, he grabbed the magazine out of his hands and threw it on the floor.

He also told about waking up in the morning, walking down to the highway and waiting for the trucks that would pick up people to work in the cotton and tobacco fields.

Another experience was related when he went to the library to check out a book. When he brought the book to the librarian, she called the police, sheriff’s office, the FBI, the Army, Marines, etc.

“And,” he said, “my mother was called.”

When his mother arrived, he told her he just wanted to read a book and promised he would bring it back when finished.

Samples said McNair remembers his mother telling him: “Anytime you say it’s good enough, you’re really saying you’re quitting early; that’s not good enough.”

In college, McNair participated in sports and found he was good at music. He played music professionally.

When he attended graduate school, McNair received a Ford Foundation Fellowship scholarship.

Samples also related the time McNair got caught in an anti-Vietnam rally. He was attacked by some white men who started to “rough him up.”

When they found out he wasn’t in the military, their comments turned to racism.

“They started poking me and putting their hands on me,” he said.

But McNair was good at karate and after threatening them with some moves, he was left alone.

To receive his doctorate, he had to write his dissertation four times before it was finally accepted.

After joining the astronaut training program, he said some people thought it was tough.

“I loved the training,” he said of McNair.

At this point in his presentation, a public announcer calls him to the launch pad. He keeps on talking, but eventually leaves.

The program ends with the public address announcer telling about the launch and explosion killing all seven astronauts on board. Along with McNair, that also included teacher Christa McAuliffe.

The program was sponsored by the Huron Middle School Parent Advisory Council.