"My desire was to [ give a hand] to the program"
August 30th marks the thirtieth year anniversary of the first African-American Astronaut in space! And that person goes by the name Guion"Guy" Bluford. He along with two other African-Americans ( Fred Gregory and Ron McNair) were chosen amongst the 35 spaceflyers selected (with six of them being women and one of the being the famous Sally Ride) on this ground breaking mission. This was part of the barrier breaking class of Astronauts in 1978.
He along with others, launched into a low-Earth orbit aboard Space Shuttle Challenger way back in 1983. Though he knew he could have be selected to become the first African-American in space, can you imagine he didn't even set out to be that pioneer? All he wanted to do was do the best he could. But as fate would have it, he efforts would rocket him off in American history! People all around stood patiently and eagerly early in the morning around 1am outside of Nasa just to see Guy fly. "What was so good about Guy was the fact that [he] was so good" states Charles Bolden the first black Administrator for NASA in 2009.
Hard work definitely pays off. Although Guion "Guy" Bluford didn't mind being second, he has over the years become fine with his mark in history. "I wanted to set the standard....so that other people would be comfortable with African-Americans flying in space" says Bluford in a NASA interview. Boy did you! Thanks to your efforts you have inspired millions and for that, I like to say... Thank You!
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