Kenny Terry has always been fascinated by the moon and stars. He attributes it to being a Cancer, a zodiac sign that, in astrology, is ruled by the moon and associated with a strong emotional connection to home and family.
These connections have guided his life. And earlier this month, they helped the East Akron native guide others to the very same moon.
Terry is a Boeing aerospace technician on the team that created and tested the shell of the Orion capsule, used on the space shuttle Integrity for the Artemis II mission.
Integrity launched on April 1 — its four-person crew traveled 252,752 miles, the farthest from Earth any human has ever been. The mission was the first lunar flyby since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
The astronauts landed safely off the coast of San Diego on April 10.
“The moon’s just sitting up there while we’re talking about building stuff on it, sending vehicles up there,” Terry said. “I’m just really fascinated we get to go to these places.”
At age 75, Terry attributes the success of this mission, and his own, to the Akron Urban League. Last year, the local organization celebrated 100 years of empowering Akron’s Black community through entrepreneurial coaching, targeted educational programs and community activism.
“I never could have gotten this far without the Akron Urban League,” Terry said.
Akron Urban League community center trains Akronite for trades
Terry’s fascination with the stars is in appreciation for God’s creation — he doesn’t think anyone else could have possibly brought it about.
He was born in Akron, one of three brothers. His mother was the youngest of 13 children and the first in the family to graduate from high school. His father, Corteylou “C.L.” Terry, was a police officer. But most important to Terry is his grandmother — his father’s mother — who died when he was four years old.
“My grandmother defined my religious beliefs,” Terry said. “I know her spirit is with me and I know that she has guided me.”
Much of Terry’s time outside of school was spent at the Akron Urban League’s community center on what is now called Vernon Odom Boulevard. The organization was led during this period by founding leader George W. Thompson. In 1964, Vernon Odom became executive director, a seat he held until 1992.
There, Terry learned how to swim and participated in a basketball league and summer camp. From grade school through the seventh grade, Terry said the community center felt like a second home.
“They had so many programs that helped the Black community,” said Terry, who attended Schumacher Elementary School in West Akron during the week and, on the weekends, Arlington Church of God. (He also attended the now-decommissioned Bryan School for half a year, then Simon Perkins Junior High School.)
In the ninth grade, he discovered a knack for drafting.
At Hower Vocational High School, Terry became deeply engrossed in mathematical studies. He wanted to be an architect and design houses. Then his counselor asked him what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
“I really didn’t know,” Terry said. “All I knew was that for some reason, I wanted to go to California.”
Apprenticeship, thoughts of California as rubber companies downsize
The counselor told Terry that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was scouting 20 volunteers for an apprenticeship program. The company sought to hire Black apprentices in the state of Ohio as part of its Path to Progress initiative, which began in 1962.
Terry said George C. Miller, the first Black principal in Akron Public Schools and the namesake of Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, helped him and his peers prepare for Goodyear’s test.
Terry passed.
“That whole summer they taught us: a little bit of welding, a little bit of machinery, a little bit of electricity,” Terry said. “We just did different things to see where we were gifted at.”
Terry was trained as a drafter in the machine shop; he was also enrolled in a four-year management course. He said about 15 of the 20 apprentices completed the program and were hired as machinists. He also enrolled at Kent State University.
At some point, he felt his career at Goodyear was at a standstill. Unhappy with the challenges facing a Black man aiming for higher management positions, he left. The years that followed were rough, from a marriage that didn’t last to hanging out with the wrong people, he said.
Then he was pulled out of his slump by a cousin attending school in California. As Akron’s rubber companies began downsizing, Terry departed for the West Coast.
An opportunity in aerospace
He found rejuvenation.
Terry discovered a job listing at McDonnell-Douglas, which later merged with Boeing in 1997. McDonnell-Douglas had numerous aerospace manufacturing plants along the California coast, making rocket parts in Long Beach, Seal Beach and Huntington Beach, where he had his job interview.
“Because I had my journeyman papers and stuff, they hired me on the spot,” Terry said.
That was 48 years ago. Terry’s been thriving in the aerospace industry ever since. He’s worn many hats — journeyman, machinist, engineer and now a technician. He even has a government-issued security clearance.
Above all, he remains a dreamer and an optimist.
“I often think, ‘What’s out there, man? Who made all this?’” Terry said. “So I’ve learned to pursue the truth no matter what it costs.”
Terry’s message for young dreamers and stargazers
Although work on Artemis II began almost six years ago, Terry said, much of the mission remains classified.
“I couldn’t say anything about what I was working on; just that I was working on something,” Terry said. “They had T-shirts I’d give to my relatives and I’d just say, ‘Watch this.’”
But above all, Terry thanks his roots and the people who he works with.
“The people that I’ve met, that’s the most important part,” Terry said. “These engineers are so brilliant, and they’re just regular people. Just having a conversation with them can take you a whole other direction.”
Terry’s challenge for younger generations is to pursue truth as he has. Be kind, be present and dream. Distance yourself from the rat-race of life and stop to see the stars.
“Everybody wants to be number one in America; even on the freeways, everybody wants to be in the fast lane,” Terry said.
“And I say, ‘Man, just look up at the sky. Man, just let it go.’”
