30 years ago, first black man in space returned home to West Philly

Guion Bluford, far left, at a City Hall press conference in November 1983. Photo courtesy of PhillyHistory.org

Nearly 30 years ago, West Philly native Guion Bluford, or “Guy,” became the first black man to go to space, PhillyHistory.org reported on its blog. The city gave Bluford a warm welcome when he returned from his mission, STS8. PhillyHistory.org writes:

In addition to the City Hall press conference, then-Mayor Bill Green, III, presented him with the Philadelphia bowl (Bluford still prizes it in his trophy case, he says), he met with then-Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Ridge, and soon-to-be Mayor Wilson Goode. He visited with sick children at the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, and he’s not entirely certain, but thinks he may have also spoken one other time in Society Hill. To cap it all off, Bluford served as grand marshal of the 64th annual Thanksgiving Day parade. [more]

Full Disclosure: Former Technically Philly reporter Yael Borofsky wrote this post under a contract from this site’s parent company Technically Media.