This Week In Black History

Jet, Sept 4, 2000

August 28, 1963--

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the historic March On Washington, on this day. A quarter of a million people from all walks of life--Blacks, Whites, young, old, labor leaders, preachers, students and housewives--participated in the massive peaceful demonstration nearly filling the entire mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The march was launched to focus the nation's attention on Blacks' demands for immediate equality in jobs and civil rights.

August 30, 1983--

Lt. Col. Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. became the first Black American astronaut to enter space on this day. Bluford served as a mission specialist aboard the Challenger shuttle. During his career as an astronaut, Bluford logged 688 hours in space working on four shuttle missions. A native of Philadelphia, he obtained his B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1964, underwent pilot training at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona and earned his wings in 1965. He later served as a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. Bluford later entered the Air Force Institute of Technology where he earned his M.S. (1974) and Ph.D. (1978) degrees in aerospace engineering. In January 1978 Bluford was among the thirty-five astronaut candidates chosen by the National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA) from some 10,000 applicants. Bluford, the late Ronald McNair and Fred Gregory ultimately became the only Blacks who were selected for the astronaut program at the time. In 1993, Bluford left NASA and retired from the United States Air Force. He joined NYMA, Inc., a Greenbelt, MD, engineering and computer Software Company.