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I was just a teenager when Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr. became the first African-American to walk in space. Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Harris became an astronaut in July 1991. But it was on February 9th, 1995 that he became a role model for young black scientists everywhere.

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Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr. was the Payload Commander on STS-63, the first flight of a new joint Russian-American Space Program. He logged 198 hours, 29 minutes in space, completed 129 orbits, and traveled over 2.9 million miles. Today, Dr. Harris is President and Founder of the Harris Foundation, which supports math/science education and crime prevention programs for America’s youth.

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.