Tyson has a very interesting story.
He was told by an Economy major/grad that the Black community could not afford him wasting his education and career on astrophysics.
As a native of Tanna, I have a great deal of empathy for those who are treated unfairly due to skin color.
So, he was pretty shaken up by the conversation. But, he pressed on, because he was doing what he loved.
Then, one day, a local news station called him because a large ball of plasma ejected by the Sun was heading towards Earth.
He explained how the magnetic field of the Earth would deflect the negative and positive ions in the plasma towards the poles, where they would become the Aurora.
He was then asked if the Earth was safe. He stated unequivocally that the Earth was safe.
He appeared that day as he does many days, as the smartest man in the room. His ethnicity/coloration was not an issue.
My role model, as an autistic adult, is Carl Sagan. Since he's dead, Neil deGrasse Tyson is a close second, although I doubt his neurology is atypical, despite his skill with the Rubik's Cube. I doubt any of my people could explain Pluto's demotion in such anthropomorphic terms that makes me feel that Pluto (I'm crying here) is joined with it's own kind, the wonderful Kuiper belt objects that live on the edge of our solor system.
