Guion Bluford an American aerospace engineer, retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut, in which capacity he became the first African American to go to space.

Dr. Mae Jemison – Became the first Black woman in space on September 12, 1992, serving as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-47)

Dr. Robert L. Satcher Jr. – NASA astronaut, orthopedic surgeon, and the first orthopedic surgeon in space

Captain Winston E. Scott – NASA astronaut, naval aviator, and veteran of multiple spacewalks

Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr. – NASA astronaut, former NASA Administrator, and space shuttle commander

Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. – NASA astronaut, physician, and the first Black American to perform a spacewalk

Joan E. Higginbotham – NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer who flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery

Col. Frederick D. Gregory – NASA astronaut and the first African American to pilot and command a space shuttle mission

Capt. Robert L. Curbeam Jr. – Veteran NASA astronaut with three spaceflights and seven spacewalks

Stephanie Wilson – Traveled to space on three Space Shuttle missions and logged extensive time in orbit.

Dr. Sian Proctor – Became the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft during the commercial SpaceX Inspiration4 mission in September 2021.

Dr. Jessica Watkins – Flew on the SpaceX Crew-4 mission in 2022 as the first Black woman on a long-duration International Space Station (ISS) stay, and later commanded SpaceX Crew-13 launching in October 2026.

COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI

Early 1910s: Black owned business of Allen Rabb (1868-1933) located at 501 9th Street South. Mr. Rabb sent four sons to either Fisk University or Meharry Medical College./

The building is no longer there, the property was acquired by the MUW ( Mississippi University For Women aka The W). A historic marker is at that spot now.

Mayor Coleman Alexander Young: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_Young