Dr. Walter McAfee: A “True Role Model”

Abstract

Dr. Walter McAfee surmounted the racism endemic to twentieth-century America and made unique and enduring contributions to the scientific community during his 42 years working as a government scientist in Monmouth County, New Jersey, to include critical contributions to Project Diana, which allowed man’s first “contact” with the moon in 1946. He also made time to quietly battle injustice, and teach and mentor a new generation of innovators and leaders as a professor at Monmouth College (now University) in West Long Branch, a trustee at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, and an organizer of enrichment programs for high school students. While the communities to which he contributed so much have memorialized him in different ways, the general public knows too little about his accomplishments. We must ensure that the stories of diverse pioneers like Walter McAfee are not excluded from our understanding of the history of the Garden State.