August 30, 1901 Roy Wilkins, prominent civil rights activist from the 1930s to the 1970s, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Wilkins earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in 1923. In 1931, he became Assistant Executive Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. From 1934 to […]
Archive | August 30, 2010
Guion “Guy” Bluford, Jr. – August 30th in African American History
August 30, 1983 Guion “Guy” Bluford, Jr. became the first African American in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Bluford was born November 22, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1964. Bluford then joined the U. S. Air Force and during the Vietnam War flew 144 combat […]
Fred Hampton, Sr – August 30th in African American History
August 30, 1948 Fred Hampton, Sr., activist and assassinated Black Panther leader, was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Maywood, a suburb of Chicago. At an early age, Hampton became active in the NAACP Youth Council, assuming leadership and growing the organization to 500 members. He worked to get more and better recreational […]